Algorithm to find a point perpendicular to two other points - math

I am trying to write an algorithm to solve this problem:
P1, P2 and P3 are given. I am looking for P4 and h.
The line between P3 and P4 should be parallel to the line between P1 and P2.
P4 should be perpendicular to the line between P1 and P2 at P2.
P1, P2 and P3 can be anywhere on the plane.

The distance h can get calculated as shown in the wikipedia
For the coordinates of P4, first let's get the equation on line P1P2:
y-y1 x-x1
----- = ----- ==> (y2-y1) x + (x1-x2) y + x1 (y1-y2) +y1 (x2-x1) = 0 ==> Ax+By+C = 0
y2-y1 x2-x1
(A,B) is the vector defining the perpendicular to the direction of the line. This can be easily seen if you draw the components A=(y2-y1), B=-(x2-x1).
Let's calculate its unitary values:
U = A / sqrt(A^2 + B^2), V = B / sqrt(A^2 + B^2)
Notice the other perpendicular vector is (-A, -B) or (-U,-V).
Adding 'h' times this perpendidular vector to P2 you get P4:
P4x= P2x + h U
P4y= P2y + h V

parallel lines have the same or negative direction so:
(P4-P3) = c*(P1-P2)
where c is any scalar constant as the magnitudes of directions may be proportional. For starters we can assume c=1
P4' = P3 + (P1-P2)
now to place P4 directly under/above P2 simply change the magnitude of (P1-P2) exploiting dot product
P4 = P3 + (P1-P2)*dot(P1-P2,P2-P3) / (|P1-P2|*|P2-P3|)
to make this work P1,P2,P3 must form a triangle and P2,P3 must not be above/under each other (in case the triangle is right angle) ...
This approach works for 2D and higher dimensionality (not just 2D).

Related

Connecting two points with a 3D logarithmic spiral (Julia)

I am calculating points along a three-dimensional logarithmic spiral between two points. I seem to be close, but I think I'm missing a conditional sign flip somewhere.
This code works relatively well:
using PlotlyJS
using LinearAlgebra
# Points to connect (`p2` spirals into `p1`)
p1 = [1,1,1]
p2 = [3,10,2]
# Number of curve revolutions
rev = 3
# Number of points defining the curve
rez = 500 # Number of points defining the line
r = norm(p1-p2)
t = range(0,r,rez)
theta_offset = atan((p1[2]-p2[2])/(p1[1]-p2[1]))
theta = range(0, 2*pi*rev, rez) .+ theta_offset
x = cos.(theta).*exp.(-t).*r.+p1[1];
y = sin.(theta).*exp.(-t).*r.+p1[2];
z = exp.(-t).*log.(r).+p1[3]
# Plot curve points
plot(scatter(x=x, y=y, z=z, marker=attr(size=2,color="red"),type="scatter3d"))
and produces the following plot. Values of the endpoints are shown on the plot, with an arrow from the coordinate to its respective marker. The first point is off, but it's close enough for my liking.
The problem comes when I flip p2 and p1 such that
p1 = [3,10,2]
p2 = [1,1,1]
In this case, I still get a spiral from p2 to p1, and the end point (p1) is highly accurate. However, the other endpoint (p2) is wildly off:
I think this is due to me changing the relative Z position of the two points, but I'm not sure, and I haven't been able to solve this riddle. Any help would be greatly appreciated. (Bonus points if you can help figure out why the Z value on p2 is off in the first example!)
Assuming this is a follow-up of your other question: Drawing an equiangular spiral between two known points in Julia
I assume you just want to add a third dimension to your previous 2D problem using cylindric coordinate system. This means that you need to separate the treatment of x and y coordinate on one side, and the z coordinate on the other side.
First you need to calculate your r on the first two coordinate:
r = norm(p1[1:2]-p2[1:2])
Then, when calculating z, you need to take only the third dimension in your formula (not sure why you used a log function there in the first place):
z = exp.(-t).*(p1[3]-p2[3]).+p2[3]
That will fix your z-axis.
Finally for your x and y coordinate, use the two argument atan function:
julia>?atan
help?> atan
atan(y)
atan(y, x)
Compute the inverse tangent of y or y/x, respectively.
For one argument, this is the angle in radians between the positive x-axis and the point (1, y), returning a value in the interval [-\pi/2, \pi/2].
For two arguments, this is the angle in radians between the positive x-axis and the point (x, y), returning a value in the interval [-\pi, \pi]. This corresponds to a standard atan2
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atan2) function. Note that by convention atan(0.0,x) is defined as \pi and atan(-0.0,x) is defined as -\pi when x < 0.
like this:
theta_offset = atan( p1[2]-p2[2], p1[1]-p2[1] )
And finally, like in your previous question, add the p2 point instead of the p1 point at the end of x, y, and z:
x = cos.(theta).*exp.(-t).*r.+p2[1];
y = sin.(theta).*exp.(-t).*r.+p2[2];
z = exp.(-t).*(p1[3]-p2[3]).+p2[3]
In the end, I have this:
using PlotlyJS
using LinearAlgebra
# Points to connect (`p2` spirals into `p1`)
p2 = [1,1,1]
p1 = [3,10,2]
# Number of curve revolutions
rev = 3
# Number of points defining the curve
rez = 500 # Number of points defining the line
r = norm(p1[1:2]-p2[1:2])
t = range(0.,norm(p1-p2), length=rez)
theta_offset = atan( p1[2]-p2[2], p1[1]-p2[1] )
theta = range(0., 2*pi*rev, length=rez) .+ theta_offset
x = cos.(theta).*exp.(-t).*r.+p2[1];
y = sin.(theta).*exp.(-t).*r.+p2[2];
z = exp.(-t).*(p1[3]-p2[3]).+p2[3]
#show (x[begin], y[begin], z[begin])
#show (x[end], y[end], z[end]);
# Plot curve points
plot(scatter(x=x, y=y, z=z, marker=attr(size=2,color="red"),type="scatter3d"))
Which give the expected results:
p2 = [1,1,1]
p1 = [3,10,2]
(x[begin], y[begin], z[begin]) = (3.0, 10.0, 2.0)
(x[end], y[end], z[end]) = (1.0001877364735474, 1.0008448141309634, 1.0000938682367737)
and:
p1 = [1,1,1]
p2 = [3,10,2]
(x[begin], y[begin], z[begin]) = (0.9999999999999987, 1.0, 1.0)
(x[end], y[end], z[end]) = (2.9998122635264526, 9.999155185869036, 1.9999061317632263)
In 2D, let us assume the pole at the point C, and the spiral from P to Q, corresponding to a variation of the parameter in the interval [0, 1].
We have
X = Cx + cos(at+b).e^(ct+d)
Y = Cy + sin(at+b).e^(ct+d)
Using the known points,
Px - Cx = cos(b).e^d
Py - Cy = sin(b).e^d
Qx - Cx = cos(a+b).e^(c+d)
Qy - Cy = sin(a+b).e^(c+d)
From the first two, by a Cartesian to polar transformation (and logarithm), you can obtain b and d. From the last two, you similarly obtain a+b and c+d, and the spiral is now defined.
For the Z coordinate, I cannot answer precisely as you don't describe how you generalize the spiral to 3D. Anyway, we can assume a certain function Z(t), that you can map to [Pz, Qz] by the linear transformation
(Qz - Pz) . (Z(t) - Z(0)) / (Z(1) - Z(0)) + Pz.

Position of a point in a circle

Hello again first part is working like a charm, thank you everyone.
But I've another question...
As I've no interface, is there a way to do the same thing with out not knowing the radius of the circle?
Should have refresh the page CodeMonkey solution is exactly what I was looking for...
Thank you again.
============================
First I'm not a developer, I'm a simple woodworker that left school far too early...
I'm trying to make one of my tool to work with an autonomous robot.
I made them communicate by reading a lot of tutorials.
But I have one problem I cant figure out.
Robot expect position of the tool as (X,Y) but tool's output is (A,B,C)
A is the distance from tool to north
B distance to east
C distance at 120 degree clockwise from east axe
the border is a circle, radius may change, and may or may not be something I know.
I've been on that for 1 month, and I can't find a way to transform those value into the position.
I made a test with 3 nails on a circle I draw on wood, and if I have the distance there is only one position possible, so I guess its possible.
But how?
Also, if someone as an answer I'd love pseudo code not code so I can practice.
If there is a tool to make a drawing I can use to make it clearer can you point it out to me?
Thank you.
hope it helps :
X, Y are coordinate from center, Da,Db, Dc are known.
Trying to make it more clear (sorry its so clear in my head).
X,Y are the coordinate of the point where is the tool (P).
Center is at 0,0
A is the point where vertical line cut the circle from P, with Da distance P to A;
B is the point where horizontal line cuts the circle fom P, with Db distance P to B.
C is the point where the line at 120 clockwise from horizontal cuts the circle from P, with Dc distance P to C.
Output from tool is an array of int (unit mm): A=123, B=114, C=89
Those are the only informations I have
thanks for all the ideas I'll try them at home later,
Hope it works :)
Basic geometry. I decided to give up having the circle at the origin. We don't know the center of the circle yet. What you do have, is three points on that circle. Let's try having the tool's position, given as P, as the new (0,0). This thus resolves to finding a circle given three points: (0, Da); (Db,0), and back off at 120° at Dc distance.
Pseudocode:
Calculate a line from A to B: we'll call it AB. Find AB's halfway point. Calculate a line perpendicular to AB, through that midpoint (e.g. the cross product of AB and a unit Z axis finds the perpendicular vector).
Calculate a line from B to C (or C to A works just as well): we'll call it BC. Find BC's halfway point. Calculate a line perpendicular to BC, through that midpoint.
Calculate where these two lines cross. This will be the origin of your circle.
Since P is at (0,0), the negative of your circle's origin will be your tool's coordinates relative to the circle's origin. You should be able to calculate anything you need relative to that, now.
Midpoint between two points: X=(X1+X2)/2. Y=(Y1+Y2)/2.
The circle's radius can be calculated using, e.g. point A and the circle's origin: R=sqrt(sqr((Ax-CirX)+sqr(Ay-CirY))
Distance from the edge: circle's radius - tool's distance from the circle's center via Pythagorean Theorem again.
Assume you know X and Y. R is the radius of the circle.
|(X, Y + Da)| = R
|(X + Db, Y)| = R
|(X - cos(pi/3) * Dc, Y - cos(pi/6) * Dc)| = R
Assuming we don't know the radius R. We can still say
|(X, Y + Da)|^2 = |(X + Db, Y)|^2
=> X^2 + (Y+Da)^2 = (X+Db)^2 + Y^2
=> 2YDa + Da^2 = 2XDb + Db^2 (I)
and denoting cos(pi/3)*Dc as c1 and cos(pi/6)*Dc as c2:
|(X, Y + Da)|^2 = |(X - c1, Y - c2)|^2
=> X^2 + Y^2 + 2YDa + Da^2 = X^2 - 2Xc1 + c1^2 + Y^2 - 2Yc2 + c2^2
=> 2YDa + Da^2 = - 2Xc1 + c1^2 - 2Yc2 + c2^2
=> Y = (-2Xc1 + c1^2 + c2^2 - Da^2) / 2(c2+Da) (II)
Putting (II) back in the equation (I) we get:
=> (-2Xc1 + c1^2 + c2^2 - Da^2) Da / (c2+Da) + Da^2 = 2XDb + Db^2
=> (-2Xc1 + c1^2 + c2^2 - Da^2) Da + Da^2 * (c2+Da) = 2XDb(c2+Da) + Db^2 * (c2+Da)
=> (-2Xc1 + c1^2 + c2^2) Da + Da^2 * c2 = 2XDb(c2+Da) + Db^2 * (c2+Da)
=> X = ((c1^2 + c2^2) Da + Da^2 * c2 - Db^2 * (c2+Da)) / (2Dbc2 + 2Db*Da + 2Dac1) (III)
Knowing X you can get Y by calculating (II).
You can also make some simplifications, e.g. c1^2 + c2^2 = Dc^2
Putting this into Python (almost Pseudocode):
import math
def GetXYR(Da, Db, Dc):
c1 = math.cos(math.pi/3) * Dc
c2 = math.cos(math.pi/6) * Dc
X = ((c1**2 + c2**2) * Da + Da**2 * c2 - Db * Db * (c2 + Da)) / (2 * Db * c2 + 2 * Db * Da + 2 * Da * c1)
Y = (-2*X*c1 + c1**2 + c2**2 - Da**2) / (2*(c2+Da))
R = math.sqrt(X**2 + (Y+Da)**2)
R2 = math.sqrt(Y**2 + (X+Db)**2)
R3 = math.sqrt((X - math.cos(math.pi/3) * Dc)**2 + (Y - math.cos(math.pi/6) * Dc)**2)
return (X, Y, R, R2, R3)
(X, Y, R, R2, R3) = GetXYR(123.0, 114.0, 89.0)
print((X, Y, R, R2, R3))
I get the result (X, Y, R, R2, R3) = (-8.129166703588021, -16.205081335032794, 107.1038654949096, 107.10386549490958, 107.1038654949096)
Which seems reasonable if both Da and Db are longer than Dc, then both coordinates are probably negative.
I calculated the Radius from three equations to cross check whether my calculation makes sense. It seems to fulfill all three equations we set up in the beginning.
Your problem is know a "circumscribed circle". You have a triangle define by 3 distances at given angles from your robot position, then you can construct the circumscribed circle from these three points (see Circumscribed circle from Wikipedia - section "Other properties"). So you know the diameter (if needed).
It is also known that the meeting point of perpendicular bisector of triangle sides is the center of the circumscribed circle.
Let's a=Da, b=Db. The we can write a system for points A and B at the circumference:
(x+b)^2 + y^2 = r^2
(y+a)^2 + x^2 = r^2
After transformations we have quadratic equation
y^2 * (4*b^2+4*a^2) + y * (4*a^3+4*a*b^2) + b^4-4*b^2*r^2+a^4+2*a^2*b^2 = 0
or
AA * y^2 + BB * y + CC = 0
where coefficients are
AA = (4*b^2+4*a^2)
BB = (4*a^3+4*a*b^2)
CC = b^4-4*b^2*r^2+a^4+2*a^2*b^2
So calculate AA, BB, CC coefficients, find solutions y1,y2 of quadratic eqiation, then get corresponding x1, x2 values using
x = (a^2 - b^2 + 2 * a * y) / (2 * b)
and choose real solution pair (where coordinate is inside the circle)
Quick checking:
a=1,b=1,r=1 gives coordinates 0,0, as expected (and false 1,-1 outside the circle)
a=3,b=4,r=5 gives coordinates (rough) 0.65, 1.96 at the picture, distances are about 3 and 4.
Delphi code (does not check all possible errors) outputs x: 0.5981 y: 1.9641
var
a, b, r, a2, b2: Double;
aa, bb, cc, dis, y1, y2, x1, x2: Double;
begin
a := 3;
b := 4;
r := 5;
a2 := a * a;
b2:= b * b;
aa := 4 * (b2 + a2);
bb := 4 * a * (a2 + b2);
cc := b2 * b2 - 4 * b2 * r * r + a2 * a2 + 2 * a2 * b2;
dis := bb * bb - 4 * aa * cc;
if Dis < 0 then begin
ShowMessage('no solutions');
Exit;
end;
y1 := (- bb - Sqrt(Dis)) / (2 * aa);
y2 := (- bb + Sqrt(Dis)) / (2 * aa);
x1 := (a2 - b2 + 2 * a * y1) / (2 * b);
x2 := (a2 - b2 + 2 * a * y2) / (2 * b);
if x1 * x1 + y1 * y1 <= r * r then
Memo1.Lines.Add(Format('x: %6.4f y: %6.4f', [x1, y1]))
else
if x2 * x2 + y2 * y2 <= r * r then
Memo1.Lines.Add(Format('x: %6.4f y: %6.4f', [x2, y2]));
From your diagram you have point P that you need it's X & Y coordinate. So we need to find Px and Py or (Px,Py). We know that Ax = Px and By = Py. We can use these for substitution if needed. We know that C & P create a line and all lines have slope in the form of y = mx + b. Where the slope is m and the y intercept is b. We don't know m or b at this point but they can be found. We know that the angle of between two vectors where the vectors are CP and PB gives an angle of 120°, but this does not put the angle in standard position since this is a CW rotation. When working with circles and trig functions along with linear equations of slope within them it is best to work in standard form. So if this line of y = mx + b where the points C & P belong to it the angle above the horizontal line that is parallel to the horizontal axis that is made by the points P & B will be 180° - 120° = 60° We also know that the cos angle between two vectors is also equal to the dot product of those vectors divided by the product of their magnitudes.
We don't have exact numbers yet but we can construct a formula: Since theta = 60° above the horizontal in the standard position we know that the slope m is also the tangent of that angle; so the slope of this line is tan(60°). So let's go back to our linear equation y = tan(60°)x + b. Since b is the y intercept we need to find what x is when y is equal to 0. Since we still have three undefined variables y, x, and b we can use the points on this line to help us here. We know that the points C & P are on this line. So this vector of y = tan(60°)x + b is constructed from (Px, Py) - (Cx, Cy). The vector is then (Px-Cx, Py-Cy) that has an angle of 60° above the horizontal that is parallel to the horizontal axis. We need to use another form of the linear equation that involves the points and the slope this time which happens to be y - y1 = m(x - x1) so this then becomes y - Py = tan(60°)(x - Px) well I did say earlier that we could substitute so let's go ahead and do that: y - By = tan(60°)(x - Ax) then y - By = tan(60°)x - tan(60°)Ax. And this becomes known if you know the actual coordinate points of A & B. The only thing here is that you have to convert your angle of 120° to standard form. It all depends on what your known and unknowns are. So if you need P and you have both A & B are known from your diagram the work is easy because the points you need for P will be P(Ax,By). And since you already said that you know Da, Db & Dc with their lengths then its just a matter of apply the correct trig functions with the proper angle and or using the Pythagorean Theorem to find the length of another leg of the triangle. It shouldn't be all that hard to find what P(x,y) is from the other points. You can use the trig functions, linear equations, the Pythagorean theorem, vector calculations etc. If you can find the equation of the line that points C & P knowing that P has A's x value and has B's y value and having the slope of that line that is defined by the tangent above the horizontal which is 180° - phi where phi is the angle you are giving that is CW rotation and theta would be the angle in standard position or above the horizontal you have a general form of y - By = tan(180° - phi)(x - Ax) and from this equation you can find any point on that line.
There are other methods such as using the existing points and the vectors that they create between each other and then generate an equilateral triangle using those points and then from that equilateral if you can generate one, you can use the perpendicular bisectors of that triangle to find the centroid of that triangle. That is another method that can be done. The only thing you may have to consider is the linear translation of the line from the origin. Thus you will have a shift in the line of (Ax - origin, By - origin) and to find one set the other to 0 and vise versa. There are many different methods to find it.
I just showed you several mathematical techniques that can help you to find a general equation based on your known(s) and unknown(s). It just a matter of recognizing which equations work in which scenario. Once you recognize the correct equations for the givens; the rest is fairly easy. I hope this helps you.
EDIT
I did forget to mention one thing; and that is the line of CP has a point on the edge of the circle defined by (cos(60°), sin(60°)) in the 1st quadrant. In the third quadrant you will have a point on this line and the circle defined by (-cos(60°), -sin(60°)) provided that this line goes through the origin (0,0) where there is no y nor x intercepts and if this is the case then the point on the circle at either end and the origin will be the radius of that circle.

Get the point that corresponds to 1/3rd the distance from p1 to p2

So for example, if we have p1 = (x1,y1) and p2 = (x2,y2) and I want to find the point that corresponds to 1/3rd the distance from p1 and p2 that lies in the line formed by p1 and p2, then what formula would I use? Having a brainfart right now.
Use Section Formula . Read here.
You have to find a point(x,y) that divides line in ratio 1:3 .
x = (x2+3*x1)/4
y = (y2+3*y1)/4
If the line segment is of distance d units then point (x,y) lies at distance d/3 from (x1,y1) and
distance 2d/3 from point (x2,y2)
If A is the vector to the first point, and B is the vector to the second point, then the point you want is
(2A + B) / 3
This works because the point one third of the way between A and B, vectorially, is the vector A + one third of the vector between A and B:
That is A + 1/3(B-A)
Algebra does the rest.
Same one as for any other position:
p(t) = a*(1-t) + b*t
where 0 <= t <= 1 gives all points on a line between vectors "a" and "b"/
In your case
p = (x1, y1)* (1-1/3) + (x2,y2) * 1/3
which is how some other answers look like.
The point p3 = (x3, y3) 1/3rd of the distance is:
x3 = (2 * x1 + x2) / 3
y3 = (2 * y1 + y2) / 3

Simulating movement in 2D

I need assistance in simulating movement between 2 points in a plane. Consider two points P1:(x,y1) and P2:(x2,y2). I compute the distance between P1 and P2, say D, and I choose a random velocity, say V. Next, I compute the time required to move from P1 to P2, say T. Finally, I compute the equation of the straight line between P1 and P2 as y = mx + b.
For example, let T = 10 seconds. For the first 9 seconds, I would like to generate points per second on the straight line until I reach point P2 at the 10th second. Could you please assist me in doing so.
The best approach is to use parametric equations
x = x1 + t*(x2 - x1)
y = y1 + t*(y2 - y1)
where t is the "time" parameter going from 0 to 1 (0.5 means for example halfway).
If you also like your movement to be "soft" (starting from zero velocity, then accelerating then slowing down and stopping on the arrival point) you can use this modified equation
w = 3*t*t - 2*t*t*t
x = x1 + w*(x2 - x1)
y = y1 + w*(y2 - y1)
The following is a plot of the w curve compared to a linear distribution t with 11 points (t=0.0, 0.1, ... 0.9, 1.0):

Calculate a bezier spline to get from point to point

I have 2 points in X,Y + Rotation and I need to calculate a bezier spline (a collection of quadratic beziers) that connects these 2 points smoothly. (see pic) The point represents a unit in a game which can only rotate slowly. So to get from point A to B, it has to take a long path. The attached picture shows quite an exaggeratedly curvy path, but you get the idea.
What formulas can I use to calculate such a bezier spline?
Just saw that I misunderstood your question. Couldn't you use a single cubic hermite splines instead since you have a start and end point and two directions (tangents)? Are there any additional constraints?
To calculate the start and end tangents just use the start and end direction and scale them with the distance between the start and end points (and additionally some other constant factor like 0.5 depending on how curvy you want the path to be).:
p0 = startpoint;
p1 = endpoint;
float scale = distance(p0, p1);
m0 = Vec2(cos(startangle), sin(startangle)) * scale;
m1 = Vec2(cos(endangle), sin(endangle)) * scale;
I use this system to interpolate camera paths in a game I'm working on and it works great.
As you probably know, there are infinite solutions, even if we assume 2 control points.
I found Smoothing Algorithm Using Bézier Curves, which answers your question (see equations of Bx(t) and By(t) in the beginning):
Bx(t) = (1-t)3 P1x + 3 (1-t)2 t P2x + 3 (1-t) t2 P3x + t3 P4x
By(t) = (1-t)3 P1y + 3 (1-t)2 t P2y + 3 (1-t) t2 P3y + t3 P4y
P1 and P4 are your endpoints, and P2 and P3 are the control points, which you're free to choose along the desired angles. If your control point is at a distance r along an angle θ from point (x, y), the coordinates of the point are:
x' = x - r sin(θ)
y' = y - r cos(θ)
(according to the co-ordinate system you've used—I think I got the signs right). The only free parameter is r, which you can choose as you want. You probably want to use
r = α dist(P1, P4)
with α < 1.
I don't remember where I got it, but I have been using this:
Vector2 CalculateBezierPoint(float t, Vector2 p0, Vector2 p1, Vector2 p2, Vector2 p3)
{
float u = 1 - t;
float tt = t*t;
float uu = u*u;
float uuu = uu * u;
float ttt = tt * t;
Vector2 p = uuu * p0; //first term
p += 3 * uu * t * p1; //second term
p += 3 * u * tt * p2; //third term
p += ttt * p3; //fourth term
return p;
}
where t is ratio along path between start and end points.

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