Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Calculating Ellipse Overlap Areas, Gary B. Hughes, Mohcine Chraibi

Statistics

We present an approach for finding the overlap area between two ellipses that does not rely on proxy curves. The Gauss-Green formula is used to determine a segment area between two points on an ellipse. Overlap between two ellipses is calculated by combining the areas of appropriate segments and polygons in each ellipse. For four of the ten possible orientations of two ellipses, the method requires numerical determination of transverse intersection points. Approximate intersection points can be determined by solving the two implicit ellipse equations simultaneously. Alternative approaches for finding transverse intersection points are available using tools from algebraic geometry, …