Be´zier Curves on Riemannian Manifolds and Lie Groups with Kinematics Applications

In this article we generalize the concept of Be´zier curves to curved spaces, and illustrate this generalization with an application in kinematics. We show how De Casteljau’s algorithm for constructing Be´zier curves can be extended in a natural way to Riemannian manifolds. We then consider a special class of Riemannian manifold, the Lie groups. Because of their group structure Lie groups admit an elegant, efficient recursive algorithm for constructing Be´zier curves. Spatial displacements of a rigid body also form a Lie group, and can therefore be interpolated (in the Be´zier sense) using this recursive algorithm. We apply this alogorithm to the kinematic problem of trajectory generation or motion interpolation for a moving rigid body. The orientation trajectory of motions generated in this way have the important property of being invariant with respect to choices of inertial and body-fixed reference frames.