On the Farthest Line-Segment Voronoi Diagram

Abstract

The farthest line-segment Voronoi diagram shows properties surprisingly different from the farthest point Voronoi diagram: Voronoi regions may be disconnected and they are not characterized by convex-hull properties. In this paper we introduce the farthest line-segment hull and its Gaussian map, a closed polygonal curve that characterizes the regions of the farthest line-segment Voronoi diagram similarly to the way an ordinary convex hull characterizes the regions of the farthest-point Voronoi diagram. We also derive tighter bounds on the (linear) size of the farthest line-segment Voronoi diagram. With the purpose of unifying construction algorithms for farthest-point and farthest line-segment Voronoi diagrams, we adapt standard techniques for the construction of a convex hull to compute the farthest line-segment hull in O(n logn) or output-sensitive O(n logh) time, where n is the number of segments and h is the size of the hull (number of Voronoi faces). As a result, the farthest line-segment Voronoi diagram can be constructed in output sensitive O(n logh) time.