\(G^{n-1}\)-functional splines for interpolation and approximation of curves, surfaces and solids (Q2641066)

The primary focus of this paper is the problem of how to construct spline curves and surfaces for smoothly modelling complicated blended surfaces. The solutions the authors propose mainly involve \(G^ 2\)-continuous interpolating splines that are defined implicitly. These functional splines are defined using a combination of base curves of surfaces and traversal curves or surfaces. The authors establish a variety of results concerning existence, degree and convexity of these functional splines and provide appropriate examples to illustrate the theoretical results. An apparent problem with the approach described in this paper is that because the functional splines are only defined implicitly, there may be significant computational cost associated with the actual use of these splines in practical applications. Although this issue is not directly addressed in the paper, references are given for further discussion of this problem.