A straightforward algorithm for computing the medial axis of a simple polygon

A new algorithm for computing the medial axis of a simple polygon is presented. Although the algorithm runs in O(kN) time where k is the hierarchy of the Voronoi diagram of the polygon ranging from O(N) to O(logN) it is simple to implement and it does not require the complex data-structures required for the faster methods. This is an important factor in many applications of the medial axis.