Let P = {p1, p2, ..., pn} denote a polygonal chain of n vertices. A new chain is desired, called a polygonal approximation, A = {a1, a2, ..., am} where the following constraints must be satisfied:
This applet is an implementation of the algorithm described in :
extract from the abstract:
"The approximation of arbitrary two-dimensional curves by polygons is an important technique in image processing. For many applications, the apparent ideal procedure is to represent lines and boundaries by means of polygons with a minmum number of verticies and satisfying a given fit criterion. (... )An apporximation algorithm is presented which uses an iterative method to produce a small - but not minumum - number of vertices that lie on the given curve. The maximum distance of the curve from the approximated polygon is chosen as the fit criterion...."