Algorithms for a Minimum Volume Enclosing Simplex in Three Dimensions

  • Authors:
  • Yunhong Zhou;Subhash Suri

  • Affiliations:
  • -;-

  • Venue:
  • SIAM Journal on Computing
  • Year:
  • 2002

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Abstract

We develop a combinatorial algorithm for determining a minimum volume simplex enclosing a set of points in ${\cal R}^3$. If the convex hull of the points has $n$ vertices, then our algorithm takes $\Theta(n^4)$ time. Combining our exact but slow algorithm with a simple but crude approximation technique, we also develop an $\varepsilon$-approximation algorithm. The algorithm computes in $O(n + 1/\varepsilon^6)$ time a simplex whose volume is within $(1 + \varepsilon)$ factor of the optimal for any $\varepsilon 0$.