Approximation of arbitrary polygonal objects using space filling curves versus a bounding box approach

Using multiple intervals on space filling curves has a benefit to merely approximating the polygon by a bounding box for indexing purposes. These intervals feature a shapes closer to those of arbitrary, non rectangular polygons. In this paper we examine whether SCUBA (Space filling Curves versus Unsophisticated Bounding box Approximation) is a feasible approach in comparison to a simple bounding box index, and how to find a reasonable break even point between space usage and access time.