Explain the concept of Delaunay triangulation in Computational Geometry.

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Explain the concept of Delaunay triangulation in Computational Geometry.

Delaunay triangulation is a fundamental concept in computational geometry that involves the creation of a triangulation of a given set of points in a plane. The Delaunay triangulation ensures that no point lies inside the circumcircle of any triangle formed by the points in the triangulation.

To understand the concept better, let's consider a set of points in a plane. The Delaunay triangulation connects these points by forming triangles such that the circumcircle of each triangle contains no other points from the given set.

The Delaunay triangulation has several desirable properties. Firstly, it maximizes the minimum angle among all the triangles in the triangulation, resulting in more regular and well-shaped triangles. This property is particularly useful in applications such as mesh generation, where well-shaped triangles are desired for accurate simulations.

Secondly, the Delaunay triangulation minimizes the number of triangles with small angles, which helps to avoid numerical instability in geometric algorithms. It also ensures that the triangles are as close to equilateral as possible, which can be beneficial in various applications.

There are different algorithms to compute the Delaunay triangulation, such as the incremental algorithm and the divide-and-conquer algorithm. These algorithms iteratively add points to the triangulation while maintaining the Delaunay property.

In summary, the Delaunay triangulation is a concept in computational geometry that creates a triangulation of a set of points in a plane, ensuring that no point lies inside the circumcircle of any triangle. It has desirable properties such as maximizing the minimum angle and minimizing the number of triangles with small angles, making it widely used in various applications.