Algebraic-Trigonometric Pythagorean-Hodograph space curves

We introduce a new class of Pythagorean-Hodograph (PH) space curves - called Algebraic-Trigonometric Pythagorean-Hodograph (ATPH) space curves - that are defined over a six-dimensional space mixing algebraic and trigonometric polynomials. After providing a general definition for this new class of curves, their quaternion representation is introduced and the fundamental properties are discussed. Then, as previously done with their quintic polynomial counterpart, a constructive approach to solve the first-order Hermite interpolation problem in ℝ3 is provided. Comparisons with the polynomial case are illustrated to point out the greater flexibility of ATPH curves with respect to polynomial PH curves.