An algebraic approach to curves and surfaces on the sphere and on other quadrics (Q687452)

In order to make quadric patches accessible as a tool in computer aided design, the authors use projective coordinates and then represent patches on sphere and equilateral hyperbolic paraboloid by the generalization of Pythagorean triples to quadruples due to V. A. Lebesgue (1868). From these they obtain the forms of Bézier, tensor product, or triangular surface patches that describe parts of these surfaces. By projective re- interpretation of the coordinates one obtains quadric patches on any surface that is a real projective image of the given ones. They show that the representation can be obtained from a parametrization of the plane by composition of the stereographic projection and a new transformation they call hyperbolic projection. Then they derive the unique circle interpolating three points of a sphere and find the necessary and sufficient condition (a concircularly condition for two vertices and two intersection points of the arcs) for the existence of a rational biquadratic Bézier patch interpolating four given boundary curves on the sphere. A tensor-product Bézier patch of degree (2,4) can always be found if the boundary is given by four circular arcs. Then they show that two regular triangular patches on the sphere can be represented by quadratic Bézier patches if and only if the resulting quadrilateral patch has a tensor (2,4) representation. They also show that there exists a unique rational spherical curve of degree \(2n\) interpolating \(2n+1\) points on the sphere. All these results are projectively invariant. The authors promise a continuation of this basic paper with attention to computational implementation.