Piecewise representation of curves with concatenated arcs via detection of appropriate break points

An algorithm is designed to automatically segment a discrete curve into appropriate number of parts, each of which is to be effectively represented by a circular arc. Thus a concise representation can be obtained. The algorithm suggested is computationally efficient. Extensive experiments were conducted in applying this technique to curves of various shapes. Results show that the representations generated are accurate for even very complex curves.<<ETX>>