An enhanced algorithm for estimation of a digitized curve length using B-splines

A digitized curve length estimation is a hot topic of research. All the methods tend to estimate the length of the original curve from which the digitized curve is obtained. When comparing different methods of estimation, the main performance criterium is the accuracy of this estimation. In this paper a novel approach is presented. It shows a significant improvement compared to all the other methods, regardless of the resolution and the type of curve. The method is based on B-splines. The initial number of control points and their location is determined by the reverse polygonization, which is one of the polygonal approximation techniques. The method then iteratively updates the location of the control points of the B-spline based on the specified cost function. Due to the fact that it shows the same level of accuracy for different B-spline orders it is also much more convenient to use than the other methods because it doesn't require the selection of appropriate parameter(s). Beside that it doesn't require nonlinear optimization techniques. The performance of the method is verified on various test curves including the ones with multiple paths within pixel at different grid resolutions.