Distributed boundary tracking using alpha and Delaunay-Cech shapes

Abstract

For a given point set $S$ in a plane, we develop a distributed algorithm to compute the $\alpha-$shape of $S$. $\alpha-$shapes are well known geometric objects which generalize the idea of a convex hull, and provide a good definition for the shape of $S$. We assume that the distances between pairs of points which are closer than a certain distance $r>0$ are provided, and we show constructively that this information is sufficient to compute the alpha shapes for a range of parameters, where the range depends on $r$. Such distributed algorithms are very useful in domains such as sensor networks, where each point represents a sensing node, the location of which is not necessarily known. We also introduce a new geometric object called the Delaunay-\v{C}ech shape, which is geometrically more appropriate than an $\alpha-$shape for some cases, and show that it is topologically equivalent to $\alpha-$shapes.