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Location of the largest empty rectangle among arbitrary obstacles

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Foundation of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science (FSTTCS 1994)

Abstract

This paper outlines the following generalization of the classical maximal-empty-rectangle (MER) problem: given n arbitrarily-oriented non-intersecting line segments of finite length on a rectangular floor, locate an empty isothetic rectangle of maximum area. Thus, the earlier restriction on isotheticity of the obstacles is relaxed. Based on the wellknown technique of matrix searching, a novel algorithm of time complexity O(nlog2 n) and space complexity O(n), is proposed. Next, the technique is extended to handle the following two related open problems: locating the largest isothetic MER (i) inside an arbitrary simple polygon and (ii) amidst a set of arbitrary polygonal obstacles.

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P. S. Thiagarajan

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© 1994 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Nandy, S.C., Sinha, A., Bhattacharya, B.B. (1994). Location of the largest empty rectangle among arbitrary obstacles. In: Thiagarajan, P.S. (eds) Foundation of Software Technology and Theoretical Computer Science. FSTTCS 1994. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 880. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-58715-2_122

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-58715-2_122

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-58715-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-49054-8

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