A Comparison of Three Curve Intersection Algorithms

An empirical comparison is made between three algorithms for computing the points of intersection of two planar Bezier curves. The algorithms compared are: the well known Bezier subdivision algorithm, which is discussed in Lane 80; a subdivision algorithm based on interval analysis due to Koparkar and Mudur; and an algorithm due to Sederberg, Anderson and Goldman which reduces the problem to one of finding the roots of a univariate polynomial. The details of these three algorithms are presented in their respective references.