Compact Voronoi Diagrams for Moving Convex Polygons

We describe a kinetic data structure for maintaining a compact Voronoi-like diagram of convex polygons moving around in the plane. We use a compact diagram for the polygons, dual to the Voronoi, first presented in [MKS96]. A key feature of this diagram is that its size is only a function of the number of polygons and not of their complexity. We demonstrate a local certifying property of that diagram, akin to that of Delaunay triangulations of points. We then obtain a method for maintaining this diagram that is output-sensitive and costs O(log n) per update. Furthermore, we show that for a set of k polygons with a total of n vertices moving along bounded degree algebraic motions, this dual diagram, and thus their compact Voronoi diagram, changes combinatorially Ω(n) and O(knβ(k)β(n)) times, where β(·) is an extremely slowly growing function. This compact Voronoi diagram can be used for collision detection or retraction motion planning among the moving polygons.