Conditions for coincidence of two cubic Bézier curves (Q633973)

For two real curves, parametrized by maps \([0,1]\to{\mathbb R}^3\), the question of whether they have the same image is a natural one and an important special case of the corresponding intersection problem. The main result of this article is its Theorem 2.4: Two cubic (polynomial) Bézier cuves whose (four) control points are not collinear are coincident if and only if their corresponding control points are coincident or one curve is the reversal of the other curve. The proof is written in a straightforward, detailed way, and uses only elementary algebra calculations. The coincidence problem has been considered before, in the more general setting of rational parametrizations, using less elementary, but not entirely different, methods: [cf. \textit{T. G. Berry} and \textit{R. R. Patterson}, Comput. Aided Geom. Des. 14, No.~9, 877--879 (1997; Zbl 0897.65011)].