Cutting Out Polygons

In this paper, we present approximation algorithms for the problem of cutting out a convex polygon P with n vertices from another convex polygon Q with m vertices by a sequence of guillotine cuts of smallest total length. Specifically, we give an O(n + m) running time, constant factor approximation algorithm, and an O(n+m) running time, O(log n)-factor approximation algorithm for cutting P out of Q. We also discuss some negative results for the case when guillotine cuts are replaced by ray cuts.