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Analysis of Multi-Dimensional Space-Filling Curves

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Abstract

A space-filling curve is a way of mapping the multi-dimensional space into the 1-D space. It acts like a thread that passes through every cell element (or pixel) in the D-dimensional space so that every cell is visited exactly once. There are numerous kinds of space-filling curves. The difference between such curves is in their way of mapping to the 1-D space. Selecting the appropriate curve for any application requires knowledge of the mapping scheme provided by each space-filling curve. A space-filling curve consists of a set of segments. Each segment connects two consecutive multi-dimensional points. Five different types of segments are distinguished, namely, Jump, Contiguity, Reverse, Forward, and Still. A description vector V=(J, C, R, F, S), where J, C, R, F, and S are the percentages of Jump, Contiguity, Reverse, Forward, and Still segments in the space-filling curve, encapsulates all the properties of a space-filling curve. The knowledge of V facilitates the process of selecting the appropriate space-filling curve for different applications. Closed formulas are developed to compute the description vector V for any D-dimensional space and grid size N for different space-filling curves. A comparative study of different space-filling curves with respect to the description vector is conducted and results are presented and discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907-1398

    Mohamed F. Mokbel & Walid G. Aref

  2. Panasonic Information and Networking Technologies Laboratory, Two Research Way, Princeton, NJ, 08540

    Ibrahim Kamel

Authors
  1. Mohamed F. Mokbel
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  2. Walid G. Aref
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  3. Ibrahim Kamel
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Mokbel, M.F., Aref, W.G. & Kamel, I. Analysis of Multi-Dimensional Space-Filling Curves. GeoInformatica 7, 179–209 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025196714293

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