ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

De Boor's algorithm

De Boor's algorithm is a way of drawing a smooth curved line that passes through a set of points called control points. It is like connecting the dots, but instead of drawing straight lines, it draws curved lines that fit the points closely.

Imagine you have a piece of paper with some dots on it. To draw a smooth curve that passes through these points, you can use a ruler to connect the dots with straight lines. However, this would not be very smooth and could potentially miss some other important points that the curve should pass through.

Instead, De Boor's algorithm uses a mathematical formula to find the best curve that passes through the control points. This formula uses a set of basis functions to define the shape of the curve. These basis functions are like building blocks that can be put together to create a curved line.

To create a curved line using De Boor's algorithm, you start by selecting a subset of the control points called a knot sequence. This sequence determines how the basis functions are combined to create the curve. The algorithm then calculates the basis functions for each point in the knot sequence and combines them to create the final curve.

The beauty of De Boor's algorithm is that it creates a curve that fits very closely to the control points, even if the curve is complex and has many twists and turns. This makes it ideal for creating smooth curves in computer graphics and animation, such as the curved lines in a 3D model or the motion path of an object.

Overall, De Boor's algorithm is a clever mathematical method for drawing smooth curves that closely follow a set of control points. It uses basis functions to define the shape of the curve and knot sequences to combine them. It is especially useful in computer graphics and animation.