Bichromatic Classifications of Points Using Strips

Given a set of n points in the plane, each colored either blue or red, we study the problem of finding a strip that separates the blue points from the red points. Specifically, we consider the following two variants: (1) locating a strip that contains no red points while maximizing the number of blue points within the strip, and (2) locating a strip that contains all blue points while minimizing the number of red points within the strip. For variant (1), we present an O(n²)-time algorithm, improving upon the previously best O(n²log n)-time result. We also show that this running time is optimal under the standard 3SUM conjecture. We also give an output-sensitive algorithm with running time O(kₒₚₜ n log n) that returns a strip, where kₒₚₜ is the number of blue points not contained within the strip in an optimal solution. We extend our results to the case of up to t parallel strips, obtaining an O(n²log n)-time algorithm. For variant (2), an optimal Θ(nlog n)-time algorithm is known for t = 1. We show 3SUM-hardness for t = 2 and give an O(n²)-time algorithm. For any t ≥ 3, we present an O(n²log n)-time algorithm.