The skip quadtree: a simple dynamic data structure for multidimensional data

We present a new multi-dimensional data structure, which we call the skip quadtree (for point data in R2) or the skip octree (for point data in Rd, with constant d > 2). Our data structure combines the best features of two well-known data structures, in that it has the well-defined “box”-shaped regions of region quadtrees and the logarithmic-height search and update hierarchical structure of skip lists. Indeed, the bottom level of our structure is exactly a region quadtree (or octree for higher dimensional data). We describe efficient algorithms for inserting and deleting points in a skip quadtree, as well as fast methods for performing point location, approximate range, and approximate nearest neighbor queries. Categories and Subject Descriptors E.1 [Data]: Data Structures; F.2.2 [Analysis of Algorithms and Problem Complexity]: Nonnumerical Algorithms and Problems— geometrical problems and computations; H.3.3 [Information Systems]: Information Storage and Retrieval—infor...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2005
• Where: COMPGEOM
• Authors: David Eppstein, Michael T. Goodrich, Jonathan Z. Sun
• Keywords: COMPGEOM 2005, Data Structure, Discrete Geometry, Point Data, Skip Quadtree