THE ERROR ANALYSIS FOR DEGREE REDUCTION OF BEZIER CURVES

The error analysis of Farin's and Forrest's algorithms for generating an approximation of degree n - 1 to an n(th) degree Bezier curve is pr esented. Algorithms are based on observations of the geometric propert ies of the Bezier curve which allow the development of detailed error analysis. By combining subdivision with a degree reduction algorithm, a piecewise approximation can be generated, which is within some prese t error tolerance of the original curve. The number of subdivisions re quired can be determined a priori and a piecewise approximation of deg ree m can be generated by iterating the scheme.