Discrete curves are usually smoothed either by approximation or by interpol
ation. Our method leads to a solution, which can be gradually chosen from a
spline interpolation to a rough approximation. A theoretical and an experi
mental study both demonstrate the capability of one parameter to control th
e behaviour of our smoothing algorithm. A deformation model is introduced t
o optimise the choice of this parameter. Results are provided on sets of po
ints corresponding to standard or noisy geometrical distributions.
The algorithm is proposed as a final step in an edge detection process to g
et a contour from a set of edge pixel candidates. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science
B.V. All rights reserved.