Multistep Scattered Data Interpolation using Compactly Supported Radial Basis Functions

A hierarchical scheme is presented for smoothly interpolating scattered data with radial basis functions of compact support. A nested sequence of subsets of the data is computed efficiently using successive Delaunay triangulations. The scale of the basis function at each level is determined from the current density of the points using information from the triangulation. The method is rotationally invariant and has good reproduction properties. Moreover the solution can be calculated and evaluated in acceptable computing time.