A Survey of the Representation and Design of Surfaces

The approach of devising robust surface methods applicable to arbitrarily located data was taken by the CAGD Group at the University of Utah. Adopting two broad classes of methods suitable for solving the problems (i.e., problems for which simplifying geometric assumptions cannot be made): (1) surface interpolants defined over triangles or tetrahedra and (2) distance-weighted interpolants. Interactive computer graphics was used to display surfaces for adequate visualization. Although some figures were given, it must be kept in mind that some 3-D medium, or at least motion, is necessary to understand surface