Minkowski isoperimetric-hodograph curves Original Research Article

General offset curves are treated in the context of Minkowski geometry, the geometry of the two-dimensional plane, stemming from the consideration of a strictly convex, centrally symmetric given curve as its unit circle. Minkowski geometry permits us to move beyond classical confines and provides us with a framework in which to generalize the notion of Pythagorean-hodograph curves in the case of rational general offsets, namely, Minkowski isoperimetric-hodograph curves. Differential geometric topics in the Minkowski plane, including the notion of normality, Frenet frame, Serret–Frenet equations, involutes and evolutes are introduced. These lead to an elegant process from which an explicit parametric representation of the general offset curves is derived. Using the duality between indicatrix and isoperimetrix and between involutes and evolutes, rational curves with rational general offsets are characterized. The dual Bézier notion is invoked to characterize the control structure of Minkowski isoperimetric-hodograph curves. This characterization empowers the constructive process of freeform curve design involving offsetting techniques.