Multiresolution indexing of triangulated irregular networks

We show how to build a continuous, one-dimensional index of the points on a triangulated irregular network (TIN). The index is constructed by first finding an ordering of the triangles in which consecutive triangles share a vertex or an edge. Then, the space within each triangle is continuously indexed with a space-filling curve that begins at one vertex of the triangle and ends at another. The space-filling curve is oriented such that the first point in each triangle is a vertex shared with the previous triangle and the last point is a vertex shared with the next triangle. Furthermore, our index can be refined locally and, therefore, efficiently when the TIN is augmented by filling any face with another TIN (to make a hierarchical TIN). Such processes arise, for example, in the elaboration of detail on a graphical surface.