1.

Introduction to Pythagorean-hodograph curves

The definitions, attractive properties, and applications of

Pythagorean-hodograph curves are introduced, starting with a

proof of the impossibility of rational parameterization of

curves by arc length. Algebraic models for planar and spatial

PH curves are described, together with their extensions to

rational PH curves, Minkowski PH curves, double PH curves,

and rational rotation-minimizing frame curves. Exact offset

curve and arc length computations for PH curves are discussed,

and also applications to real-time motion control.

2. A 4000-year tour of algebra and geometry motivated

   by the investigation of Pythagorean-hodograph curves

An eclectic survey of ideas from algebra and geometry

spanning four millenia is presented, motivated by the study

of PH curves. The tour begins in 1800 BC with Plimpton 322,

a cuneiform tablet from ancient Mesopotamia, containing the

earliest-known compilation of Pythagorean triples of integers.

The flimsy historical knowledge of the mythical figure of

Pythagoras is then discussed. More than a millenium later,

we meet the Persian mathematician Muhammad al-Khwarizmi, to

whom we owe the terms "algebra" and "algorithm". The tour

is rounded out in more modern times with Ehrenfried Walther

von Tschirnhaus (a contemporary of Lebniz); Caspar Wessel,

the Norwegian surveyor who first proposed the geometrical

interpretation of complex-number arithmetic; and William

Rowan Hamilton, inventor of the quaternions.

3. Hermite and spline interpolation algorithms for

   planar and spatial Pythagorean-hodograph curves

Because of their non-linear nature, PH curves cannot be

directly constructed by the usual "control polygon" methods

of computer-aided geometric design. To construct them in a

geometrically intuitive manner, we must interpolate discrete

data (points and tangents). Such problems typically incur a

sparse system of quadratic equations in complex variables

(for planar PH curves) or quaternions (spatial PH curves).

Robust and efficient methods for solving such systems are

described, together with strategies for selecting "good"

solutions among the multiple formal solutions that arise

from the non-linear nature of the equations. For planar

PH curves, such algorithms have attained a highly mature

state of development, but many open problems remain for

spatial PH curves.

4. Minkowski geometric algebra of complex sets: theory,

   algorithms, and applications

Algebraic operations on sets of complex numbers produce

rich geometrical structures, with diverse applications and

connections to science and engineering. For "simple" operands,

such as circular disks, precise descriptions of their algebraic

combinations are available in terms of the Cartesian and Cassini

ovals, and higher-order generalizations. Algorithms can be

formulated to approximate algebraic operations on complex sets

with general (piecewise-smooth) boundaries to a given precision.

This "Minkowski algebra of complex sets" is the generalization

of (real) interval arithmetic to sets of complex numbers. It

offers a versatile two-dimensional "shape operator" language,

with connections to mathematical morphology, geometrical optics,

and the stability analysis of dynamic systems.

5. Spatial Pythagorean hodographs, quaternions, and rotations

   in R3 and R4

Quaternions, the first example of a non-commutative algebra,

arose as a by-product of Hamilton's failed attempt to construct

an "algebra of triples". Hamilton envisaged the quaternions as

the "new language" of science and technology, but their place

was usurped by vector analysis, an algebraically crude and

overtly pragmatic subset of the quaternion algebra. A simple

quaternion expression automatically generates Pythagorean

quartuples of polynomials, thus yielding an elegant rotation

invariant characterization of Pythagorean hodographs in R3.

Quaternions provide compact and intuitive descriptions for

rotations in R3, a fact that has lead to a renewed interest

in them for robotics, computer graphics, animation, and

related fields. Quaternions also describe rotations in R4,

whose strange properties provide a cautionary tale against

extrapolating our geometric intuition from R2 and R3 to

Euclidean spaces of higher dimension.

6. Real-time CNC interpolator algorithms for motion control

The function of the "real-time interpolator" algorithm in a

computer numerical control (CNC) machine is to convert tool

path and feedrate (speed) information into a timed sequence of

commanded positions (reference points) at the servo sampling

frequency, typically 1-10 kHz. PH curves are exceptionally

well suited to this task, since they admit analytic reduction

of the interpolation integral for feedrates dependent upon

time, arc length, curvature, etc. The superior performance

of PH curve real-time interpolators, compared to traditional

piecewise-linear/circular "G code" path descriptions, is

illustrated through experiments on an open-architecture

CNC machine. Recent results from the solution of "inverse

dynamics" problems, that provide exact compensation for

the inherent physical limitations (inertia and damping) of

CNC machines, are also presented.

7. Rotation-minimizing frames on space curves: theory,

   algorithms, and applications

An orthonormal frame defined along a space curve is called

an adapted frame if it incorporates the curve tangent at each

point as one basis vector. Such a frame is rotation-minimizing

if its angular velocity maintains a zero component in the

direction of the curve tangent, i.e., the normal-plane vectors

exhibit no instantaneous rotation about the tangent. Such

frames have important applications in computer animation,

swept surface constructions, path planning for robotics, etc.

Recently, the possibility of constructing space curves with

exact rational rotation-minimizing frames, as a proper subset

of the spatial PH curves, has been recognized. The underlying

theory and construction of such RRMF curves is presented. A

theory of rotation-minimizing directed (rather than adapted)

frames is also introduced, motivated by a problem of camera

orientation control.

8. Bernstein, Legendre, Chebyshev: definitions, applications,

   transformations, and stability analysis of polynomial bases

Polynomials are traditionally viewed as sums of products of

coefficients with successive powers of a variable, but there

many alternative representations that are more appropriate in

particular contexts: the Bernstein form gives "geometrical"

insight into the graph of a polynomial; the Legendre form is

well-suited to least-squares approximation; and the Chebyshev

form to min-max approximation. Associated with each of these

bases is an intrinsic stability (sensitivity of the polynomial

value to uniform random perturbations of the coefficients),

and a stability of the linear map to one of the other bases.

We introduce the basic properties of these bases, and study

some of their stability properties, including the "optimal"

stability of the Bernstein basis.