Fast Computing for the Approximate Straightest Path on Triangular Mesh Surfaces

To obtain the approximation of the shortest path between two points on mesh models,a new method for approximately computing the straightest path on mesh models is proposed in this paper.It utilizes the neighboring feature of the starting point and the end point to determine the initial cutting plane.Then,it calculates the intersection point on the facets of the triangular mesh to extend the straightest path.During this process,it adjusts the direction of the cutting plane when a new intersection point is obtained.The adjustment terminates until the path reaches the end point.The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is fast and effective.