View source for Axis-aligned object

In [[Geometry|geometry]], an '''axis-aligned object''' ('''axis-parallel''', '''axis-oriented''') is an object in ''n''-dimensional space whose shape is aligned with the coordinate axes of the space.

Examples are axis-aligned rectangles (or [[Hyperrectangle|hyperrectangle]]s), the ones with edges parallel to the coordinate axes. [[Minimum bounding box]]es are often implicitly assumed to be axis-aligned. A more general case is [[Rectilinear polygon|rectilinear polygon]]s, the ones with all sides parallel to coordinate axes or rectilinear polyhedra.

Many problems in [[Computational geometry|computational geometry]] allow for faster algorithms when restricted to (collections of) axis-oriented objects, such as axis-aligned rectangles or axis-aligned line segments.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-07-07 |title=3D collision detection - Game development {{!}} MDN |url=https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Games/Techniques/3D_collision_detection |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=developer.mozilla.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

A different kind of example are axis-aligned ellipsoids, i.e., the [[Ellipsoid|ellipsoid]]s with principal axes parallel to the coordinate axes.

==References==
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[[Category:Geometry]]

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