Constrained shape modification of cubic B-spline curves by means of knots

The effect of the modification of knot values on the shape of B-spline curves is examined in this paper. The modification of a knot of a B-spline curve of order k generates a one-parameter family of curves.This family has an envelope which is also a B-spline curve with the same control polygon and of order k−1. Applying this theoretical result, three shape control methods are provided for cubic B-spline curves, that are based on the modification of three consecutive knots. The proposed methods enable local shape modifications subject to position and/or tangent constraints that can be specified within well defined limits.