Abstract. The area distance to a convex plane curve is an important concept in computer vision. In this paper we describe a strong link between area distances and improper affine spheres. Based on this link, we propose an extremely fast algorithm to compute the inner area distance. Moreover, the concepts of the theory of affine spheres lead to a new definition of an area distance on the outer part of a convex plane curve. On the other hand, area distances provide a good geometrical understanding of improper affine spheres.

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