Although we have never covered this in class, splines are a very important component in numerical analysis and computer graphics.  A spline is a special piecewise defined function.  To go along with what we have learned in class, polynomial interpolation can be executed by spline interpolation.  In more specific areas of computer graphics, spline functions usually mean piecewise polynomial curves. A neat application of splines is modeling irregularly shaped objects.  A specific type of splines are triangular B-splines.  They help smooth surfaces of an object with the lowest degree polynomial.  They are a tool for modeling complex objects with nonrectangular surfaces.   There are many useful features from this B-spline technique for modeling irregularly shaped objects over random triangulations.  This technique can be applied to design problems such as filling polygonal holes or designing smooth blends. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spline_(mathematics)http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel1/38/6686/00267471.pdf