Bézier Curves and Surfaces

Computer-aided geometric design (CAGD) is the design of geometrical shapes using computer technology, and is used extensively in many applications, such as the automotive, shipbuilding, and aerospace industries, architectural design, and computer animation. A popular way of modelling geometry in CAGD is to represent the outer surface, or curve, of the object as a patchwork of parametric polynomial pieces. Bézier curves and surfaces are a representation of such polynomial pieces that makes their interactive design easier and more intuitive than with other representations. They were developed in the 1960’s and 1970’s by Paul de Casteljau and Pierre Bézier, for use in the automotive industry.