A Geometric Approach for Computing the Kernel of a Polyhedron

Abstract

We present a geometric algorithm to compute the geometric kernel of a generic polyhedron. The geometric kernel (or simply kernel) is definedas the set of points from which the whole polyhedron is visible. Whilst the computation of the kernel for a polygon has already been largely addressed in the literature, less has been done for polyhedra. Currently, the principal implementation of the kernel estimation is based on the solution of a linear programming problem. We compare against it on several examples, showing that our method is more efficient in analysing the elements of a generic tessellation. Details on the technical implementation and discussions on pros and cons of the method are also provided.