A kinetic data structure for the maintenance of a multidimensional range search tree is introduced. This structure is used as a building block to obtain kinetic data structures for two classical geometric proximity problems in arbitrary dimensions: the first structure maintains the closest pair of a set of continuously moving points, and is provably e#cient. The second structure maintains a spanning tree of the moving points whose cost remains within some prescribed factor of the minimum spanning tree. The method for maintaining the closest pair of points can be extended to the maintenance of closest pair of other distance functions which allows us to maintain the closest pair of a set of moving objects with similar sizes and of a set of points on a smooth manifold.

Analyzing the worst-case complexity of the k-level in a planar arrangement of n curves is a fundamental problem in combinatorial geometry. We give the first subquadratic upper bound (roughly O(nk 9 2 s 3 )) for curves that are graphs of polynomial functions of an arbitrary fixed degree s. Previously, nontrivial results were known only for the case s = 1 and s = 2. We also improve the earlier bound for pseudo-parabolas (curves that pairwise intersect at most twice) to O(nk k). The proofs are simple and rely on a theorem of Tamaki and Tokuyama on cutting pseudo-parabolas into pseudo-segments, as well as a new observation for cutting pseudo-segments into pieces that can be extended to pseudo-lines. We mention applications to parametric and kinetic minimum spanning trees.

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Shape fitting is a fundamental optimization problem in computer science. In this paper, we present a general and unified technique for solving a certain family of such problems. Given a point set P in R d, this technique can be used to ε-approximate: (i) the min-width annulus and shell that contains P, (ii) minimum width cylindrical shell containing P, (iii) diameter, width, minimum volume bounding box of P, and (iv) all the previous measures for the case the points are moving. The running time of the resulting algorithms is O(n + 1/ε c), where c is a constant that depends on the problem at hand. Our new general technique enable us to solve those problems without resorting to a careful and painful case by case analysis, as was previously done for those problems. Furthermore, for several of those problems our results are considerably simpler and faster than what was previously known. In particular, for the minimum width cylindrical shell problem, our solution is the first algorithm whose running time is subquadratic in n. (In fact we get running time linear in n.) 1

We give a surprisingly short proof that in any planar arrangement of n curves where each pair intersects at most a fixed number (s) of times, the k-level has subquadratic (O(n 2s )) complexity. This answers one of the main open problems from the author's previous paper (FOCS'00), which provided a weaker bound for a restricted class of curves (graphs of degree-s polynomials) only. When combined with existing tools (cutting curves, sampling, etc.), the new idea generates a slew of improved k-level results for most of the curve families studied earlier, including a near-O(n ) bound for parabolas.

We introduce the framework of soft kinetic data structures (SKDS). A soft kinetic data structure is an approximate data structure that can be used to answer queries on a set of moving objects with unpredictable motion. We analyze the quality of a soft kinetic data structure by giving a competitive analysis with respect to the dynamics of the system.

Let G be a directed graph with n vertices and non-negative weights in its directed edges, embedded on a surface of genus g, and let f be an arbitrary face of G. We describe an algorithm to preprocess the graph in O(gn log n) time, so that the shortest-path distance from any vertex on the boundary of f to any other vertex in G can be retrieved in O(log n) time. Our result directly generalizes the O(n log n)-time algorithm of Klein [Multiple-source shortest paths in planar graphs. In Proc. 16th Ann. ACM-SIAM Symp. Discrete Algorithms, 2005] for multiple-source shortest paths in planar graphs. Intuitively, our preprocessing algorithm maintains a shortest-path tree as its source point moves continuously around the boundary of f. As an application of our algorithm, we describe algorithms to compute a shortest non-contractible or non-separating cycle in embedded, undirected graphs in O(g² n log n) time.

In this thesis, we study the skin surface as a new paradigm for the deformable surfaces. The skin surface handles deformation and topology changes robustly, supported by the un-derlying structure of Delaunay triangulations and alpha shapes. The surface serves as a deformable manifold in various disciplines, such as computer graphics, molecular modeling, and mechanical engineering. We develop an algorithm and software for the construction and visualization of the skin surface in 3D in various ways, namely, a parametric representation, static and dynamic triangulations. The triangulation algorithm is guaranteed to terminate with a high quality triangle mesh. In our investigation, geometric properties of the skin serve as the foundation of our proofs and insights for the algorithms. The proofs can be extended to the meshing of other low degree surfaces, such as NURBS. The surfaces created by the software bring stability in finite element methods and visualization of molecular structures to scientists.

this paper is to present a methodology for planning and controlling the sensing, processing, and communication actions needed to accomplish a certain mission, while respecting the system resource constraints described above. To be concrete, consider two settings. Set1 is people moving around a building; we are interested in security and surveillance applications, such as the detection of unusual activities and the monitoring of particular suspicious individuals. Set2 is a military engagement in an open terrain with a few buildings and ground enemy (e) and friendly (f ) vehicles moving in it; a commander must make key decisions that depend on the world state. In both settings, the sensor net needs to provide useful high-level information to its clients

A distributed kinetic spanning tree algorithm is proposed for routing in wireless mobile ad hoc networks. Assuming a piecewise linear motion model for the nodes, the sequence of shortest-path spanning trees is determined, valid until the time of the next node trajectory change.