English

ConicCurv: A curvature estimation algorithm for planar polygons

Numerical Analysis 2025-03-28 v1 Numerical Analysis

Abstract

ConicCurv is a new derivative-free algorithm to estimate the curvature of a plane curve from a sample of data points. It is based on a known tangent estimator method grounded on classic results of Projective Geometry and B\'ezier rational conic curves. The curvature values estimated by ConicCurv are invariant to Euclidean changes of coordinates and reproduce the exact curvature values if the data are sampled from a conic. We show that ConicCurv< has convergence order 33 and, if the sample points are uniformly arc-length distributed, the convergence order is 44. The performance of ConicCurv is compared with some of the most frequently used algorithms to estimate curvatures and its performance is illustrated in the calculation of the elastic energy of subdivision curves and the location of L-curves corners.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2503.20938,
  title  = {ConicCurv: A curvature estimation algorithm for planar polygons},
  author = {R. Díaz Fuentes and J. Estrada Sarlabous and V. Hernández Mederos},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.20938},
  year   = {2025}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-28T22:35:48.864Z