Journal of Automated Reasoning

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10817-021-09591-2

Automated Discovery of Geometric Theorems Based

on Vector Equations

Xicheng Peng1 · Qihang Chen2 · Jingzhong Zhang1,3,4 · Mao Chen1

Received: 21 June 2019 / Accepted: 30 March 2021

© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. 2021

Abstract
Automated discovery of geometric theorems has attracted considerable attention from the
research community. In this paper, a new method is proposed to discover geometric theo‑
rems automatically. This method first generates vector equations based on given geometric
relations about a geometric figure and then transforms the vector equations into a system of
homogeneous linear equations; after computing the determinants of the coefficient matri‑
ces corresponding to the system of equations, the elimination method is applied to obtain
a large number of geometric relationships. The test on more than 200 geometric problems
shows that the geometric relationships discovered automatically by the proposed method
are of obvious geometric meaning.

Keywords Vector equation · Automated geometric theorem discovery · Geometric theorem

proving · Elimination method

1 Introduction

With the development of machine proof of geometry theorem [1] and the emergence of
the Wu’s method [2, 3], area method [4], deductive database method [5, 6], and so on,
the functions of a dynamic geometry software (DGS) have been greatly improved [7–11].
Compared with paper and pen, DGS brings great convenience to geometry teaching and
research, which can quickly and accurately plot the geometric figures; moreover, by using
the measurement function of DGS, geometric theorems and conjectures about a given geo‑
metric figure can be checked or verified. However, discovering previously unspecified and
unknown geometric relationships and conclusions automatically is beyond DGS’s ability.

* Mao Chen
chenmao@mail.ccnu.edu.cn
1
National Engineering Research Center for E‑Learning, Central China Normal University,
Wuhan 430079, China
2
Optical Valley School, Xinnuo Education, Wuhan 430070, China
3
Institute of Computational Science and Technology, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006,
China
4
Chengdu Institute of Computer Applications, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 610041,
China

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 X. Peng et al.

Currently, there are several methods [12–18] that can discover new geometric theorems,
among which, the deductive database method and the coordinate geometry-based elimina‑
tion method are highly dominant.
The deductive database method takes information about the geometric figure as input
and then deduces new facts by using reasoning rules. For instance, from a simple geomet‑
ric figure where three heights of a triangle intersect at a point, many properties could be
deduced, including 105 equations about the ratio relation of segments [6]. Also, from the
classical Miquel’s five-circle theorem, a hidden fact that three lines having one common
point is deduced, which implies that there are 15 concyclic points. The coordinate geomet‑
ric-based elimination method lists geometric equations based on coordinates, and uses the
elimination method [19–26] (Groebner Basis method, Ritt–Wu method, Resultant method,
etc.) to eliminate some variables, so as to find out the relationship among the geometric
variables concerned. Typical cases [3] include the automated discovery of Heron’s formula
and the tetrahedron volume formula.
There are also some related studies on automated reasoning based on vector geome‑
try [29–31]. In this paper, a new method that automatically discovers geometric theorems
based on vector equation is proposed. The experimental results show that this method can
find geometric propositions with obvious geometric meaning.

2 Proposed Method

The study of triangles is of great importance in plane geometry, which lay the foundation
for the study of more complex geometric shapes. If an efficient method could be obtained
to discover the properties of a triangle deeply, the properties of more complex shapes can
also be found by extension. For example, a polygon can be divided into several triangles.
Therefore, we will begin with the study of a triangle, which requires the basic knowledge
of vector geometry and algebra, including the determinant calculation, necessary condi‑
tions to have nonzero solutions for a system of homogeneous linear equations, and polyno‑
mial elimination.

Example 1 In ΔABC, the lengths of segments AB, BC, and CA are denoted by a, b, and
c, respectively. Angles ∠CAB,∠ABC,∠BCA are represented as A,B and C , respectively,
and A + B + C = 𝜋 . Find as many relationships as possible among the variables in
{a, b, c, A, B, C}.

According to geometric meaning of Euler formula and complex number, two vectors
can be transformed into each other by rotation and contraction. As shown in Fig. 1,
��⃗ ei𝜃 = AC
there is a relationship |AB|
AB ���⃗ , where |AB| represents the length of line AB and 𝜃 is
|AC|

Fig. 1  Illustration of vector

transformation

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Automated Discovery of Geometric Theorems Based on Vector…

the angle between vectors, ei𝜃 = cos 𝜃 + i sin 𝜃 . Therefore, in triangle ΔABC, the follow‑
ing four equations can be generated by vector analysis:
����⃗
AB ����⃗
AC
r1 = (1)
c b

����⃗
BC ����⃗
BA
r2 = (2)
a c

����⃗
CA ����⃗
CB
r = (3)
b 3 a

����⃗ + BC
AB ����⃗ = 0�⃗
����⃗ + CA (4)
where r1 = eiA = cos A + i sin A = u1 + v1 i, r2 = eiB = cos B + i sin B = u2 + v2 i,
r3 = eiC = cos C + i sin C = u3 + v3 i , u1 = cos A , v1 = sin A , u2 = cos B , v2 = sin B
,u3 = cos C and v3 = sin C.
In this paper, these four vector equations about a triangle are called the basic equa-
tions. Based on the basic equations, a system of linear equations can be generated as
follows:

⎛ br1 0 c ⎞
⎜ a cr2 0 ⎟
⎜ 0 b ar3 ⎟
X=0 (5)
⎜ ⎟
⎝ 1 1 1 ⎠

where X = {AB, ����⃗ T .

����⃗ CA}
����⃗ BC,
We select three from the four equations in Eq. (5). Note that there are four different
combinations as follows, each of which can be expressed as AX=0 . After solving the
coefficient determinant equation separately for each combination, i.e.,|A| = 0,
| br1 0 c || | br1 0 c |
| | |
| a cr2 0 || = 0, || a cr2 0 || = 0,
|
| 0 b ar3 || | 1 1 1|
| | |
(6)
| br1 0 c || | a cr2 0 |
| | |
| 0 b ar3 || = 0, || 0 b ar3 || = 0.
|
| 1 1 1 || |1 1 1 |
| | |
The following equations can be resulted.

⎧ abc(1 + r1 r2 r3 ) = 0,
⎪ c(a − cr2 + br1 r2 ) = 0,
⎨ b(c − br + ar r ) = 0, (7)
⎪ 1 1 3
⎩ a(b − ar3 + cr2 r3 ) = 0.

After substituting the expressions r1 = eiA = u1 + v1 i , r2 = eiB = u2 + v2 i , and

r3 = eiC = u3 + v3 i into Eq. (7), and separating the imaginary part from the real part, the
number of equations doubles, as shown below.

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 X. Peng et al.

⎧ abc(1 + u1 u2 u3 − u3 v1 v2 − u2 v1 v3 − u1 v2 v3 ) = abc(u2 u3 v1 + u1 u3 v2 + u1 u2 v3 − v1 v2 v3 ) = 0,
⎪ c(a − cu2 + bu1 u2 − bv1 v2 ) = c(bu2 v1 − cv2 + bu1 v2 ) = 0,
⎨ b(c − bu + au u − av v ) = b(au v − bv + au v ) = 0,
⎪ 1 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1
⎩ a(b − au3 + cu2 u3 − cv2 v3 ) = a(cu3 v2 − av3 + cu2 v3 ) = 0.
(8)
As cos2 A + sin2 A = 1, equation u21 + v21 − 1 = 0 can be obtained. Likewise, the follow‑
ing two equations can be obtained: u22 + v22 − 1 = 0, and u23 + v23 − 1 = 0. Thus, there are 11
equations in total. A lot of information about a triangle is contained in these 11 equations.
However, as the expressions of these equations are somewhat different from the geomet‑
ric relationships we are used to, further manipulation is needed. We choose Mathematica
software as the operating platform and adopt Groebner basis as the elimination method.
Note that the elimination order determines the conclusions that can be resulted. As there
are 9 elements (i.e., u1 , v1 , u2 , v2 , u3 , v3 , a, b, c) in the 11 equations, the number of permuta‑
tions of the nine elements is totally 362,880, which is the reason why rich results can be
obtained.
Using GB elimination method with the lex order
v1 > u1 > u2 > v2 > u3 > v3 > a > b > c, the following six equations can be obtained.

(1) a4 − 2a2 b2 + b4 − 2a2 c2 − 2b2 c2 + c4 + 4a2 b2 v23 = 0, i.e., the Heron’s formula:
√( )( )( )( )
−a + b + c a + b − c a − b + c a + b + c 1
= ab sin C = S▵ABC .
2 2 2 2 2
(2) a2 + b2 − c2 − 2abu3 = 0, i.e., the cosine formula a2 + b2 − c2 − 2ab cos C = 0.
(3) v1 − u3 v2 − u2 v3 = 0, i.e., the addition formula for sine:
sin A = sin(B + C) = sin B cos C + cos B sin B.
(4) u1 + u2 u3 − v2 v3 = 0, i.e., the addition formula for cosine:
− cos A = cos(B + C) = cos B cos C − sin B sin C.
(5) cv2 − bv3 = 0, i.e., the sine formula bc = sin C
sin B
.
(6) a − bu3 − cu2 = 0, i.e., the projective theorem a = b cos C + c cos B.
  If another elimination order is set, some other equations can be
obtained. For example, Using GB elimination method with the lex order of
c > a > b > v3 > v2 > v1 > u3 > u2 > u1, the following equation can be obtained:
(7) u21 + u22 + u23 + 2u1 u2 u3 − 1 = 0, i.e.,

cos2 A + cos2 B + cos2 C + 2 cos A cos B cos C − 1 = 0.

It is interesting to draw several conclusions from a single triangle with a simple and mech‑
anized method. Moreover, this method can be extended to other more complex cases. Assum‑
ing that there are n points in a geometric figure, we can get Cn2 = (n−1)n 2
vectors and
Cn3 = n(n−1)(n−2)
6
triangles (three collinear points can be regarded as a degenerate triangle). If
we list the four basic equations for each constructed triangle, 4Cn3 = 2n(n−1)(n−2)
3
equations
(n−1)n

will be obtained, which is called the complete system of equations, and C 2n(n−1)(n−2)
2
determi‑
3
nants are to be computed. With the increase in n, the number of equations increases rapidly.
For example, when n is 4, the number of determinants is 8,008, whereas when n is 5, the

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Automated Discovery of Geometric Theorems Based on Vector…

number of determinants increases to 847,661,000. It can be predicted that a huge amount of

geometric relationships will be obtained if all these determinants are computed. However, the
computational demand of the elimination process is too high to be accepted. In practice, to
control the amount of computation, we only choose those equations that are closely related to
the given conditions in the problem.

Example 2 Consider an inner point of a triangle. As shown in Fig. 2, P is a point in ΔABC,

PA = x, PB = y, PC = z, ∠PBC = 𝜃1, ∠PCB = 𝜃2, ∠PCA = 𝜃3, ∠PAC = 𝜃4, ∠PAB = 𝜃5,
∠PBA = 𝜃6, ∠BPC = 𝜃7, ∠CPA = 𝜃8, ∠APB = 𝜃9, ∠BAC = 𝜃10, ∠ABC = 𝜃11, ∠ACB = 𝜃12,
and rk = ei𝜃k = uk + vk i for k = 1, 2, 3, … 12.

By following the procedures in Example 1, 16 equations could be obtained for ΔABC,

ΔPBC, ΔPCA, and ΔPAB as follows:
����⃗ + BC
PB ����⃗ + CP �⃗
����⃗ = 0; (9)

����⃗ + CA
PC ����⃗ + AP �⃗
����⃗ = 0; (10)

����⃗ + AB
PA ����⃗ + BP �⃗
����⃗ = 0; (11)

����⃗
BC ����⃗
BP
r = ; (12)
a 1 y

����⃗
CP ����⃗
CB
r = ; (13)
z 2 a

����⃗
CA ����⃗
CP
r = ; (14)
b 3 z

����⃗
AP ����⃗
AC
r = ; (15)
x 4 b

Fig. 2  One inner point in a

triangle

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 X. Peng et al.

����⃗
AB ����⃗
AP
r5 = ; (16)
c x

����⃗
BP ����⃗
AB
r = ; (17)
y 6 c

����⃗ + BC
AB ����⃗ + CA �⃗
����⃗ = 0; (18)

����⃗
PB ����⃗
PC
r7 = ; (19)
y z

����⃗
PC ����⃗
PA
r8 = ; (20)
z x

����⃗
PA ����⃗
PB
r9 = ; (21)
x y

����⃗
AB ����⃗
AC
r10 = ; (22)
c b

����⃗
BC ����⃗
BA
r11 = ; (23)
a c

����⃗
CA ����⃗
CB
r = . (24)
b 12 a
Equation (18) can be obtained from Equations (9), (10), and (11), while Equation (19)
can be obtained from Equations (12) and (13); moreover, the remaining equations can be
obtained similarly. After that, only the first nine equations are considered, and the follow‑
ing system of linear equations is obtained:

⎛0 1 −1 1 0 0 ⎞
⎜ −1 0 1 0 1 0 ⎟
⎜ ⎟
⎜1 −1 0 0 0 1 ⎟
⎜0 a 0 yr1 0 0 ⎟
⎜0 0 ar2 −z 0 0 ⎟X = 0, (25)
⎜ ⎟
⎜0 0 b 0 zr3 0 ⎟
⎜ br4 0 0 0 −x 0 ⎟
⎜c 0 0 0 0 xr5 ⎟
⎜ ⎟
⎝0 cr6 0 0 0 −y ⎠

where X = {PA,
����⃗ PB,
����⃗ PC,
����⃗ BC,
����⃗ CA, ����⃗ T .
����⃗ AB}
If P is the incenter, then the following information, r6 = r1, r3 = r2, and r4 = r5, can be
added as known conditions. As there are nine equations with six variables, the number of
possible combinations is 84 when selecting six from nine equations, and each combination

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Automated Discovery of Geometric Theorems Based on Vector…

is written in the form AX=0. Then |A| = 0 is simplified, and rk = ei𝜃k = uk + vk i is substi‑
tuted into the resulting equations. Next, we separate the imaginary part from the real part
and applied the elimination method. Finally, using GB elimination method with the lex
order of u4 > v4 > u1 > v1 > u2 > v2 > x > y > z > a > b > c, many geometric relation‑
ships are obtained as follows.
√
bc(−a + b + c)
x= ,
a+b+c
ax2 + by2 + cz2 = abc,
ac − bc + x2 − y2 = 0,
a2 b − by2 − az2 − cz2 = 0,
b2 c − bc2 − bx2 + cx2 + by2 − cz2 = 0,
b2 y2 − x2 y2 − c2 z2 + x2 z2 = 0,
bc3 − bcx2 − c2 x2 + x4 − bcy2 − x2 y2 = 0,
abx2 + bcy2 + caz2 = aby2 + bcz2 + cax2 ,
abcy2 − bc2 y2 + cx2 y2 − abcz2 + b2 cz2 − bx2 z2 + by2 z2 − cy2 z2 = 0.
( )
Similarly, if P is the Brocard point [27] 𝜃1 = 𝜃3 = 𝜃5 , then r1 = r3 = r5 can be
added as known conditions. Using GB elimination method with the lex order of
u1 > v1 > u4 > v4 > u6 > v6 > x > y > z > a > b > c, a large number of geometric rela‑
tionships can be obtained after implementing the same procedure as above, some of which
are listed below:
axz + bxy + cyz = abc,
acx − b2 y = 0,
b3 c − bcx2 − b2 xz − c2 xz = 0,
b2 c
x= √ ,
a2 b2 + a2 c2 + b2 c2
ac2
y= √ ,
a2 b2 + a2 c2 + b2 c2
a2 b
z= √ .
a2 b2 + a2 c2 + b2 c2

Several triangle centers, as well as some other properties, can be explored by using the
above methods. By combining the problem-solving procedures of Examples 1 and 2, we
obtain a new automated discovery algorithm, which is summarized as follows:

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 X. Peng et al.

We implement the algorithm on software Mathematics. The corresponding mathematics

code for solving Example 1 is presented in the “Appendix” section. Through practice and
experiments on more than 200 problems, it is found that to prove existing theorems, some
manual interferences are needed; besides, special attention has to be paid to the geometric
quantity involved in the problem. On the other hand, new theorems can be discovered auto‑
matically and mechanically without manual interference.

3 More Examples

Example 3 Automated discovery of bisector theorem. As shown in Fig. 3, AD is an angle

bisector in ΔABC. Automatically discover geometric relationships of the variables in
{a, b, c, m, x, y, 𝛼, 𝛽}.

Let ∠BAD = ∠DAC = 𝛼,∠ABC = 𝛽,r1 = ei𝛼 = u1 + v1 i,r2 = ei𝛽 = u2 + v2 i, AD = m,

BD = x, and DC = y. Then, one can get the following vector equations: AB
����⃗ + BD �����⃗ = 0�⃗,
�����⃗ − AD

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Automated Discovery of Geometric Theorems Based on Vector…

Fig. 3  Automated discovery of

bisector theorem

����⃗ + DC
−AC �����⃗ + AD ���⃗ = DC
�����⃗ = 0�⃗,BD ��⃗ r = AD
���⃗,AB ��⃗ r2 = AC
���⃗,AB ���⃗ r = BA
���⃗, and BD ��⃗. Based on these equa‑
x y c 1 m c 1 b x 2 c
tions, we obtain the following system of vector equations:

⎛1 −1 0 1 0 ⎞
⎜0 1 −1 0 1 ⎟
⎜ ⎟
⎜0 0 0 y −x ⎟
X = 0, (26)
⎜ mr1 −c 0 0 0 ⎟
⎜ br2 0 −c 0 0 ⎟
⎜ 1 ⎟
⎝x 0 0 cr2 0 ⎠

where X = {AB,
����⃗ AD,
�����⃗ AC,
����⃗ BD, �����⃗ T . Similarly, the determinants of the coefficients of the
�����⃗ DC}
equations are computed based on the procedure described above. After substituting, sepa‑
rating, combining, and applying the elimination method, the following relationships are
obtained:
{ }
(1) Setting the lex order as y, x, c, b, v1 , u1 , m , we can get bx − cy=0, which geometrically
means that ACAB BD
= DC , i.e., the angular bisector theorem.
(2) bc − xy − m = 0; the geometric meaning of which is AD2 = AB ⋅ AC − BD ⋅ DC , i.e.,
2

the length theorem of angular bisector.

(3) Using GB elimination method with the lex order of a > v1 > u2 > v2 >
x > y > m > b > c > u1,we can get −bm − cm + 2bcu1 = 0, whose geometric meaning
A
2AB⋅AC cos
is AD = AB+AC 2 . Obviously, this is also the length theorem of angular bisector.
(4) Using GB elimination method with √ the lex order of v1 > u1 > u2 > v2 >
bc(−a+b+c)(a+b+c)
x > y > m > a > b > c , we can get AD = b+c
, which is a formula to
calculate the length of the angular bisector by using the length of the three sides
of the triangle.

Example 4 A point inside an equilateral triangle (Re-exploration of Viviani’s theorem

[27]). As shown in Fig. 4, P is a point inside the equilateral triangle ΔABC, PD ⊥ BC, PE
⊥ CA, and PF ⊥ AB. Assuming that BC = a, BD = u, CE = v, AF = w, PD = x, PE = y, and
PF = z, automatically discover geometric relationships of the variables in {a, u, v, w, x, y, z}.
√
2𝜋
Let r1 = e 3 i = − 21 + 23 i, AB ����⃗ + BC ����⃗ = 0,ABr
����⃗ + CA ����⃗ 1 = BC ����⃗,BCr
����⃗ 1 = CA ����⃗,CAr ����⃗,
����⃗ 1 = AB
���⃗ i = BC
PD ���⃗,PE
��⃗ i = CA ��⃗ i = AB
���⃗,PF ���⃗ r = PE
��⃗, PD ��⃗ r = PF
��⃗,PE ��⃗ r = PD
��⃗,PF ���⃗ = BC
���⃗, BD ���⃗ = CA
���⃗, CE ��⃗ r = AB
���⃗, AF ��⃗,
x a y a z a x 1 y y 1 z z 1 x u a v a w 1 a

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 X. Peng et al.

Fig. 4  A point inside an equilat‑

eral triangle

�����⃗ + BC
PD ����⃗ − BD
�����⃗ + CE ����⃗,PE
����⃗ = PE ����⃗ + CA
����⃗ − CE
����⃗ + AF ����⃗, and PF
����⃗ = PF ����⃗ + AB
����⃗ − AF
����⃗ + BD �����⃗.
�����⃗ = PD
Then, the following system of vector equations is obtained:

⎛1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 ⎞
⎜ r1 −1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ⎟
⎜0 r1 −1 0 0 0 0 0 0 ⎟
⎜ ⎟
⎜0 −x 0 ia 0 0 0 0 0 ⎟
⎜0 0 −y 0 ia 0 0 0 0 ⎟
⎜ −z 0 0 0 0 ia 0 0 0 ⎟
⎜ ⎟
⎜0 0 0 r1 y −x 0 0 0 0 ⎟
X = 0, (27)
⎜0 0 0 0 r1 z −y 0 0 0 ⎟
⎜0 −u 0 0 0 0 a 0 0 ⎟
⎜ ⎟
⎜0 0 −v 0 0 0 0 a 0 ⎟
⎜ −w 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 a ⎟
⎜0 1 0 1 −1 0 −1 1 0 ⎟
⎜ ⎟
⎜0 0 1 0 1 −1 0 −1 1 ⎟
⎝1 0 0 −1 0 1 1 0 −1 ⎠

where X = {AB,
����⃗ BC,
����⃗ CA,
����⃗ PD,
�����⃗ PE,
����⃗ PF,
����⃗ BD,
�����⃗ CE, ����⃗ T . After following a similar procedure
����⃗ AF}
√
2𝜋
as above, substituting r1 = e 3 i = − 21 + 23 i into the resulting equations, separating the
imaginary and real part, and applying the elimination method, we obtain:

(1) Using GB elimination method with the lex order √ of x > y > z > a > u > v√ > w,
we can obtain √ u + v + w = 3
2
a , 4u − 2v + w = 3 3z , −2u + v + 4w = 3 3y ,
u + 4v − 2w = 3 3x.
(2) Using GB elimination
√ method
√ with the lex order
√ of u > v > w √ > a > x > y > z, we can
obtain x + y + z = 23 a, 3w − 2y − z = 0, 3v − 2x − y = 0, 3u − 2z − x = 0.
(3) L e t m = u2 + v2 + w2 , n = x2 + y2 + z2 , a n d u s e t h e l e x o r d e r o f
m > n > a > u > v > w > x > y > z, we can get 2(u2 + v2 + w2 ) = a2 + 2(x2 + y2 + z2 ).

The first five equations only hold if P is inside the triangle. Viviani’s theorem deals
with the sum of lengths of segments, which are invariants. However, according to exist‑
ing studies, the relevant conclusions hold only when P is inside the triangle, whereas
the relationships corresponding to P outside the triangle should be rewritten.

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Automated Discovery of Geometric Theorems Based on Vector…

Fig. 5  Exploring the inscribed

quadrilateral

Example 5 Exploring the inscribed quadrilateral. As shown in Fig. 5, assuming that

AB = a, BC = b, CD = c, DA = d, AC = e, and BD = f in inscribed quadrilateral ABCD, where
E is the intersection point of line AC and BD, and the area of ABCD is S, automatically dis‑
cover relationships about the variables in {a, b, c, d, e, f }.

Let ∠ADB = ∠ACB = 𝛼,∠BDC = ∠BAC = 𝛽,∠BEC = 𝛾,r1 = e𝛼i = u1 + v1 i,r2 = e𝛽i = u2 + v2 i,
r3 = e𝛾i = u3 + v3 i.DA ����⃗ + AB �����⃗ , DB
����⃗ = DB �����⃗ + BC
����⃗ = DC �����⃗ , DA
����⃗ + AC
����⃗ = DC ���⃗ r = DC
�����⃗ , DB ���⃗ ,
d 1 f
���⃗ r = BC
AC ���⃗ , DB
���⃗ r = DC ��⃗ r = AC
���⃗ , AB ���⃗ , and DB���⃗ r = AC ���⃗ . Then, the following system of vector
e 1 b f 2 c a 2 e f 3 e
equations is obtained:

⎛1 −1 0 1 0 0 ⎞
⎜0 1 −1 0 1 0 ⎟
⎜1 0 −1 0 0 1 ⎟
⎜ ⎟
⎜ fr1 −d 0 0 0 0 ⎟
X = 0, (28)
⎜0 0 0 0 −e br1 ⎟
⎜0 cr2 −f 0 0 0 ⎟
⎜ ⎟
⎜0 0 0 er2 0 −a ⎟
⎝0 er3 0 0 0 −f ⎠

where X = {DA,
����⃗ DB,
�����⃗ DC,
�����⃗ AB,
����⃗ BC, ����⃗ T .
����⃗ AC}
By following similar procedures as described earlier, and using GB elimination method
with the lex order of u3 > u1 > v1 > u2 > v2 > v3 > f > e > a > b > c > d , we have that:

(1) ac + bd − ef = 0, which is the Ptolemy’s theorem [27];

(2) abe + cde − bcf − adf = 0, i.e., e
= bc+ad
;
f ab+cd √
(3) abc2 + a2 cd + b2 cd + abd2 − abe2 − cde = 0, i.e., e = 2 (bc+ad)(ac+bd)
;
√ ab+cd

(4) a2 bc + ab2 d + ac2 d + bcd2 − bcf 2 − adf 2 = 0, i.e., f = (ac+bd)(ab+cd)

bc+ad
;
(5) a4 − 2a2 b2 + b4 + 4a2 c2 − 2b2 c2 + c4 − 2a2 d2 − 2c2 d2 + d4 − 4acef − 2e2 f 2 + 4e2 f(2 v23 =)0 ,
,
2
1
⇒ −a4 + 2a2 b2 − b4 − 4a2 c2 + 2b2 c2 − c4 + 2a2 d2 + 2c2 d2 − d4 + 4ac(ac + bd) + 2(ac + bd)2 = 16 efv3
√ 2

⇒S= −a+b+c+d a+b+c−d a+b−c+d a−b+c+d

2 2 2 2
, which is the area formula of the inscribed

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 X. Peng et al.

Fig. 6  Relationship between

edges and angles in a circle

Fig. 7  Area of the focus triangle

of an ellipse

quadr ilateral. Similarly, hundreds of similar relationships such as

abde + cd2 e + ac2 f − ad2 f − cef 2 = 0 can be obtained (Fig. 5).

For a circle-related problem, the study focuses mainly on the points and center of the
circle, and the problem is usually transformed into the study of the relationship between
the edges and angles of triangles after the application of the inscribed angle theorem
and the circle power theorems [27]. As demonstrated in the following example (see
Fig. 6), from the fact that four points A, B, C, D coexist with a circle, the relations such
as ∠BAC = ∠BDC = 21 ∠BOC and OA = OB = OC = OD can be resulted. Admittedly,
for a few cases involving circular arcs, such as calculating the area and circumference of
a circle, the proposed algorithm is powerless.
Before the establishment of analytic geometry, people studied conic based on the
method of Euclidean geometry [28]. We have tried to study some conic problems 2 2
in a
similar way. Specifically, the study of ellipse is not based on the equation ax2 + by2 = 1,
but by using the relationship between edges and angles in the geometric figure. The
following is a case of automatically finding the area formula of the focus triangle of an
ellipse.

Example 6 As shown in Fig. 7, the focus triangle of an ellipse is a triangle composed of

two focuses F1, F2 and any point P on the ellipse. Automatic discovery is performed below.

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Automated Discovery of Geometric Theorems Based on Vector…

Let 𝜃 = ∠F1 PF2 , r1 = cos 𝜃 + i sin 𝜃 = u1 + v1 i , 𝛼 = ∠PF1 F2 ,

r2 = cos 𝛼 + i sin 𝛼 = u2 + v2 i , |PF | = m,|PF | = 2a − m,|F F | = 2c,b2 + c2 − a2 = 0 ,
����⃗ ����⃗2 ����⃗−PF
����⃗ | ����⃗1| | 2| | 1 2|
then m1 r1 = 2a−m and 12c 2 r2 = m1 can be obtained. Based on these equations, the fol‑
PF PF PF PF

lowing system of vector equations is obtained:

( r )
1
− m1
r
2a−m
r X=0 (29)
− m1 + 2c2 − 2c2

where X = {PF ������⃗2 }T .

������⃗1 , PF
By following a similar procedure as described above, and setting the elimination
order as {m, b, a, v1 , u1 , v2 , c, u2 }, the equation 2b2 − 2b2 u1 − 2amv21 + m2 v21 = 0 is
obtained, i.e., 12 (2a − m)mv1 = b2 v 1 . Accordingly, we can get the following
1−u
1
expression:
1 𝜃
S▵PF1 F2 = (2a − m)mv1 = b2 tan .
2 2

4 Comparison and Conclusion

The experiences on more than 200 problems showed that the vector equation-based elimi‑
nation method proposed in this paper is effective to discover new geometric theorems
automatically. To further evaluate the performance of the proposed method, a compara‑
tive analysis with Wu’s method, the classical algebraic method, is presented through an
example.
The Heron’s formula, i.e., the formula of finding the area of a triangle with given length
of three sides, is a typical case of automatic discovery [3]. In order to study the relation‑
ship between geometric quantities x1,x2,x3 and x4, coordinate parameters are introduced as
a bridge to establish equations, and then the coordinate parameters are eliminated, and the
relationship between triangle area and side length is obtained. The specific operation is as
follows:
Assuming that the three sides and the area of a triangle ▵ A0 A1 A2 are denoted by x1,x2
,x3 and x4, respectively, and the aim is to discover the relations of them. Let A0 = (0, 0)
, A1 = (x5 , 0), A2 = (x6 , x7 ), then following equations can be obtained:
h1 = 2x4 − x5 x7
h2 = x5 − x1
h3 = x22 − x62 − x72
h4 = x32 − (x6 − x5 )2 − x72 ,

By following a similar procedure as described above, and using GB elimination method with
the lex order of x5 > x6 > x7 > x1 > x2 > x3 > x4, the following expressions are obtained:

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 X. Peng et al.

The first one, i.e., the expression x14 − 2x12 x22 + x24 − 2x12 x32 − 2x22 x32 + x34 + 16x42 =0 is the
Heron’s formula.

⎧ f (x , x , x , …) = 0 ⎧ g (a, b, c, u , v , …) = 0
⎪ 1 1 2 3 ⎪ 1 1 1
⎪ f2 (x1 , x2 , x3 , …) = 0 ⎪ g2 (a, b, c, u1 , v1 , …) = 0
⎨ →⎨
⎪⋯ ⎪⋯
⎪ f (x , x , x , …) = 0 ⎪ g (a, b, c, u , v , …) = 0
⎩ n 1 2 3 ⎩ n 1 1

Geometric problems usually exist in the form of natural language and graphics. To reason
them, we should first formalize them. Different formalization methods may have a great impact
on subsequent reasoning. The algebraic methods represented by Wu’s method are based on ana‑
lytic geometry. Usually, after setting up coordinate parameters and establishing equations, the
focus of these methods is mainly on how to eliminate elements. Comparatively, the method
proposed in this paper takes the side length a, b, c and sine and cosine values of the angles
uk , vk (k = 1, 2, 3) as parameters to establish the equations gi (a, b, c, u1 , v1 , …) = 0. Since the
parameters involved are geometric quantities with definite geometric meaning, therefore no mat‑
ter what parameters be eliminated, the resulting equations can reflect certain relationship between
geometric quantities.
In particular, it is worth mentioning the processing of angle. In analytic geometry, three
points (i.e., six coordinate parameters) are needed to denote an angle, which leads to a rather
complex expression for angles related relationship; accordingly, the study of relations of
angles is rather difficult. Comparatively, the method proposed in this paper makes full use of
Euler formula and geometric properties such as rotation to denote angle concisely, which can
solve this problem to some extent.
This paper focuses on the automatic discovery and proof of propositions in plane geometry,
and whether it can be extended to quadratic curve problems and 3D geometry is what we are
going to consider next. In addition, extending the method in some applications such as the prob‑
lem of connecting rod in engineering and the problem of geometric reasoning for computer
vision is the next research direction.

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Automated Discovery of Geometric Theorems Based on Vector…

Appendix

Acknowledgements This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Founda‑
tion of China (Grant No. 62077019, 41671377), National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No.
2017YFB1401300). We are grateful to the reviewers for their useful comments and suggestions which
helped us to significantly improve the paper.

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