Fast Medial Axis Transform for Planar Domains With General Boundaries

The medial axis, also known as symmetry axis, is a special type of skeleton that has a number of interesting properties. It is a powerful tool in applications involving pattern recognition, image analysis, path planning and mesh generation, to name a few. Since the proposal and definition of the medial axis, in 1967, much effort has been done to develop fast and accurate methods for calculating the medial axis transform. Fast and exact solutions were found for planar domains enclosed by simple polygons, however, domains with curved boundaries are still a terrain for further research. This paper presents a new algorithm for approximating the medial axis of general planar domains that is much faster than previous approaches. The algorithm is based on a new but very simple form of representing the medial axis.