Surfaces generated by moving least squares methods

An analysis of moving least squares (m.l.s.) methods for smoothing and interpolating scattered data is presented. In particular, theorems are proved concerning the smoothness of interpolants and the description of m.l.s. processes as projection methods. Some properties of compositions of the m.l.s. projector, with projectors associated with finiteelement schemes, are also considered. The analysis is accompanied by examples of univariate and bivariate problems.