What is the method for converting radians to degrees? - algorithm

I run into this occasionally and always forget how to do it.
One of those things that pop up ever so often.
Also, what's the formula to convert angles expressed in radians to degrees and back again?

radians = degrees * (pi/180)
degrees = radians * (180/pi)
As for implementation, the main question is how precise you want to be about the value of pi. There is some related discussion here

a complete circle in radians is 2*pi. A complete circle in degrees is 360. To go from degrees to radians, it's (d/360) * 2*pi, or d*pi/180.

x rads in degrees - > x*180/pi
x degrees in rads -> x*pi/180
I guess if you wanted to make a function for this [in PHP]:
function convert($type, $num) {
if ($type == "rads") {
$result = $num*180/pi();
}
if ($type == "degs") {
$result = $num*pi()/180;
}
return $result;
}
Yes, that could probably be written better.

In javascript you can do it this way
radians = degrees * (Math.PI/180);
degrees = radians * (180/Math.PI);

This works well enough for me :)
// deg2rad * degrees = radians
#define deg2rad (3.14159265/180.0)
// rad2deg * radians = degrees
#define rad2deg (180/3.14159265)

180 degrees = PI * radians

360 degrees is 2*PI radians
You can find the conversion formulas at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radian#Conversion_between_radians_and_degrees.

360 degrees = 2*pi radians
That means deg2rad(x) = x*pi/180 and rad2deg(x) = 180x/pi;

pi Radians = 180 degrees
So 1 degree = pi/180 radians
or 1 radian = 180/pi degrees

For double in c# this might be helpful:
public static double Conv_DegreesToRadians(this double degrees)
{
//return degrees * (Math.PI / 180d);
return degrees * 0.017453292519943295d;
}
public static double Conv_RadiansToDegrees(this double radians)
{
//return radians * (180d / Math.PI);
return radians * 57.295779513082323d;
}

Here is some code which extends Object with rad(deg), deg(rad) and also two more useful functions: getAngle(point1,point2) and getDistance(point1,point2) where a point needs to have a x and y property.
Object.prototype.rad = (deg) => Math.PI/180 * deg;
Object.prototype.deg = (rad) => 180/Math.PI * rad;
Object.prototype.getAngle = (point1, point2) => Math.atan2(point1.y - point2.y, point1.x - point2.x);
Object.prototype.getDistance = (point1, point2) => Math.sqrt(Math.pow(point1.x-point2.x, 2) + Math.pow(point1.y-point2.y, 2));

radians = (degrees/360) * 2 * pi

Related

using spherical coordinates in opengl

I am trying to plot points around a center point using spherical coordinates. I know this is by far not the most efficient way to plot a sphere in OpenGL but i want to do it as an excersive to understand spherical coordinates better.
I want to step through each point by a certain angle so for this i have a nested for loop itterating through theta 0 - 360 and phi 0-360 and i am attempting to get the Cartesian coordinates of each of these steps and display it as a single point.
so far i have this:
float r = 1.0;
for( float theta = 0.0; theta < 360.0; theta += 10.0){
for(float phi = 0.0; phi < 360.0; phi += 10.0){
float x = r * sin(theta) * cos(phi);
float y = r * sin(theta) * sin(phi);
float z = r * cos(theta);
}
}
i store these points a display them. the display function works fine as i have used it to display other point structure before but for some reason i can't get this to work.
I have also tried converting the angles from degrees to radians:
float rTheta = theta * M_PI * 180.0;
float rPhi = phi * M_PI * 18.0;
as sin() and cos() both use radians but it yields the same results.
Am i doing something wrong and badly misunderstanding something?
In the conversion from degrees to radians of angle x, the correct formula is x * M_PI / 180..

Why is xspeed != 0?

I'm making a game in which the player should move in its facing direction.
So I've come up with this.
int speed = 50;
float rotation = 90;
int speedx = speed * cos(rotation);
int speedy = speed * sin(rotation);
player->move(speedx, speedy);
But the problem is this:cos(90) returns -0.448074 and sin(90) returns 0.893997. They should return 0 and 1.
Does any one of you have an idea why?
Your cos and sin functions are expecting angles in radians, not degrees.
Cosine of 90 radians is -0.448074 as you've found.

Not getting the correct orientation of the user with respect to Kinect

I am using Microsoft Kinect in a project. One of the task that I have to accomplish is to find the orientation of the user w.r.t the Kinect sensor (when the user turns, the orientation changes)
For this, I am trying to find the angle which the line joining the shoulders makes with the x axis of Kinect.
I have come up with the following code, but it gives me very small angle values, even when I turn almost about 40 degrees.
double vector_x=skel.SkeletonPositions[NUI_SKELETON_POSITION_SHOULDER_LEFT].x-skel.SkeletonPositions[NUI_SKELETON_POSITION_SHOULDER_RIGHT].x;
double vector_y=skel.SkeletonPositions[NUI_SKELETON_POSITION_SHOULDER_LEFT].y-skel.SkeletonPositions[NUI_SKELETON_POSITION_SHOULDER_RIGHT].y;
double vector_z=skel.SkeletonPositions[NUI_SKELETON_POSITION_SHOULDER_LEFT].z-skel.SkeletonPositions[NUI_SKELETON_POSITION_SHOULDER_RIGHT].z;
double len1=sqrtf(vector_x * vector_x + vector_y * vector_y + vector_z * vector_z);
double vector_x1=1.0;
double vector_y1=0.0;
double vector_z1=0.0;
double len2=sqrtf(vector_x1 * vector_x1 + vector_y1 * vector_y1 + vector_z1 * vector_z1);
double dot_product = vector_x * vector_x1 + vector_y * vector_y1 + vector_z * vector_z1;
double angle = dot_product / (len1 * len2);
coor_left=Convert(vector_x)+"\t"+Convert(vector_y)+"\t"+Convert(vector_z)+"\n";
OutputDebugStringA(Convert(acos(angle)).c_str());
When I added the conversion of radians to degrees,
double angle1=angle*180.0/3.14;
I get values form -33 to -57(when I am facing the Kinect) and then to -33 again.
But in reality, it should be negative, then 0 and then positive on the other side. Where am I going wrong?
I solved it myself. I realised that I was finding the angle between incorrect vectors.
All I needed to do was to take the projection of the left and the right shoulders on the x-z plane and then reduce the problem to finding the angle between two vectors in a plane.
Here is what I did:
double CalcAngle(double p1x,double p1y, double p2x,double p2y, double p3x,double p3y, double p4x,double p4y)
{
//
// calculate the angle between the line from p1 to p2
// and the line from p3 to p4
//
double x1 = p1x - p2x;
double y1 = p1y - p2y;
double x2 = p3x - p4x;
double y2 = p3y - p4y;
//
double angle1 , angle2 , angle;
//
if (x1 != 0.0f)
angle1 = atan(y1/x1);
else
angle1 = 3.14159 / 2.0; // 90 degrees
//
if (x2 != 0.0f)
angle2 = atan(y2/x2);
else
angle2 = 3.14159 / 2.0; // 90 degrees
//
angle = fabs(angle2-angle1);
angle = angle * 180.0 / 3.14159; // convert to degrees ???
//
return angle;
}
double myangle=CalcAngle(skel.SkeletonPositions[NUI_SKELETON_POSITION_SHOULDER_LEFT].x,skel.SkeletonPositions[NUI_SKELETON_POSITION_SHOULDER_LEFT].z,
skel.SkeletonPositions[NUI_SKELETON_POSITION_SHOULDER_RIGHT].x,skel.SkeletonPositions[NUI_SKELETON_POSITION_SHOULDER_RIGHT].z,
0,0,1,0);
OutputDebugStringA(Convert(myangle).c_str());
OutputDebugStringA("\n");

interpolate between rotation matrices

i have two rotation matrices that describe arbitrary rotations. (4x4 opengl compatible)
now i want to interpolate between them, so that it follows a radial path from one rotation to the other. think of a camera on a tripod looking one way and then rotating.
if i interpolate every component i get a squeezing result, so i think i need to interpolate only certain components of the matrix. but which ones?
You have to use SLERP for the rotational parts of the matrices, and linear for the other parts. The best way is to turn your matrices into quaternions and use the (simpler) quaternion SLERP: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slerp.
I suggest reading Graphic Gems II or III,specifically the sections about decomposing matrices into simpler transformations. Here's Spencer W. Thomas' source for this chapter:
http://tog.acm.org/resources/GraphicsGems/gemsii/unmatrix.c
Of course, I suggest you learn how to do this yourself. It's really not that hard, just a lot of annoying algebra. And finally, here's a great paper on how to turn a matrix into a quaternion, and back, by Id software: http://www.mrelusive.com/publications/papers/SIMD-From-Quaternion-to-Matrix-and-Back.pdf
Edit: This is the formula pretty much everyone cites, it's from a 1985 SIGGRAPH paper.
Where:
- qm = interpolated quaternion
- qa = quaternion a (first quaternion to be interpolated between)
- qb = quaternion b (second quaternion to be interpolated between)
- t = a scalar between 0.0 (at qa) and 1.0 (at qb)
- θ is half the angle between qa and qb
Code:
quat slerp(quat qa, quat qb, double t) {
// quaternion to return
quat qm = new quat();
// Calculate angle between them.
double cosHalfTheta = qa.w * qb.w + qa.x * qb.x + qa.y * qb.y + qa.z * qb.z;
// if qa=qb or qa=-qb then theta = 0 and we can return qa
if (abs(cosHalfTheta) >= 1.0){
qm.w = qa.w;qm.x = qa.x;qm.y = qa.y;qm.z = qa.z;
return qm;
}
// Calculate temporary values.
double halfTheta = acos(cosHalfTheta);
double sinHalfTheta = sqrt(1.0 - cosHalfTheta*cosHalfTheta);
// if theta = 180 degrees then result is not fully defined
// we could rotate around any axis normal to qa or qb
if (fabs(sinHalfTheta) < 0.001){ // fabs is floating point absolute
qm.w = (qa.w * 0.5 + qb.w * 0.5);
qm.x = (qa.x * 0.5 + qb.x * 0.5);
qm.y = (qa.y * 0.5 + qb.y * 0.5);
qm.z = (qa.z * 0.5 + qb.z * 0.5);
return qm;
}
double ratioA = sin((1 - t) * halfTheta) / sinHalfTheta;
double ratioB = sin(t * halfTheta) / sinHalfTheta;
//calculate Quaternion.
qm.w = (qa.w * ratioA + qb.w * ratioB);
qm.x = (qa.x * ratioA + qb.x * ratioB);
qm.y = (qa.y * ratioA + qb.y * ratioB);
qm.z = (qa.z * ratioA + qb.z * ratioB);
return qm;
}
From: http://www.euclideanspace.com/maths/algebra/realNormedAlgebra/quaternions/slerp/
You need to convert the matrix into a different representation - quaternions work well for this, and interpolating quaternions is a well-defined operation.

Calculate distance between two latitude-longitude points? (Haversine formula)

How do I calculate the distance between two points specified by latitude and longitude?
For clarification, I'd like the distance in kilometers; the points use the WGS84 system and I'd like to understand the relative accuracies of the approaches available.
This link might be helpful to you, as it details the use of the Haversine formula to calculate the distance.
Excerpt:
This script [in Javascript] calculates great-circle distances between the two points –
that is, the shortest distance over the earth’s surface – using the
‘Haversine’ formula.
function getDistanceFromLatLonInKm(lat1,lon1,lat2,lon2) {
var R = 6371; // Radius of the earth in km
var dLat = deg2rad(lat2-lat1); // deg2rad below
var dLon = deg2rad(lon2-lon1);
var a =
Math.sin(dLat/2) * Math.sin(dLat/2) +
Math.cos(deg2rad(lat1)) * Math.cos(deg2rad(lat2)) *
Math.sin(dLon/2) * Math.sin(dLon/2)
;
var c = 2 * Math.atan2(Math.sqrt(a), Math.sqrt(1-a));
var d = R * c; // Distance in km
return d;
}
function deg2rad(deg) {
return deg * (Math.PI/180)
}
I needed to calculate a lot of distances between the points for my project, so I went ahead and tried to optimize the code, I have found here. On average in different browsers my new implementation runs 2 times faster than the most upvoted answer.
function distance(lat1, lon1, lat2, lon2) {
var p = 0.017453292519943295; // Math.PI / 180
var c = Math.cos;
var a = 0.5 - c((lat2 - lat1) * p)/2 +
c(lat1 * p) * c(lat2 * p) *
(1 - c((lon2 - lon1) * p))/2;
return 12742 * Math.asin(Math.sqrt(a)); // 2 * R; R = 6371 km
}
You can play with my jsPerf and see the results here.
Recently I needed to do the same in python, so here is a python implementation:
from math import cos, asin, sqrt, pi
def distance(lat1, lon1, lat2, lon2):
p = pi/180
a = 0.5 - cos((lat2-lat1)*p)/2 + cos(lat1*p) * cos(lat2*p) * (1-cos((lon2-lon1)*p))/2
return 12742 * asin(sqrt(a)) #2*R*asin...
And for the sake of completeness: Haversine on Wikipedia.
Here is a C# Implementation:
static class DistanceAlgorithm
{
const double PIx = 3.141592653589793;
const double RADIUS = 6378.16;
/// <summary>
/// Convert degrees to Radians
/// </summary>
/// <param name="x">Degrees</param>
/// <returns>The equivalent in radians</returns>
public static double Radians(double x)
{
return x * PIx / 180;
}
/// <summary>
/// Calculate the distance between two places.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="lon1"></param>
/// <param name="lat1"></param>
/// <param name="lon2"></param>
/// <param name="lat2"></param>
/// <returns></returns>
public static double DistanceBetweenPlaces(
double lon1,
double lat1,
double lon2,
double lat2)
{
double dlon = Radians(lon2 - lon1);
double dlat = Radians(lat2 - lat1);
double a = (Math.Sin(dlat / 2) * Math.Sin(dlat / 2)) + Math.Cos(Radians(lat1)) * Math.Cos(Radians(lat2)) * (Math.Sin(dlon / 2) * Math.Sin(dlon / 2));
double angle = 2 * Math.Atan2(Math.Sqrt(a), Math.Sqrt(1 - a));
return angle * RADIUS;
}
}
Here is a java implementation of the Haversine formula.
public final static double AVERAGE_RADIUS_OF_EARTH_KM = 6371;
public int calculateDistanceInKilometer(double userLat, double userLng,
double venueLat, double venueLng) {
double latDistance = Math.toRadians(userLat - venueLat);
double lngDistance = Math.toRadians(userLng - venueLng);
double a = Math.sin(latDistance / 2) * Math.sin(latDistance / 2)
+ Math.cos(Math.toRadians(userLat)) * Math.cos(Math.toRadians(venueLat))
* Math.sin(lngDistance / 2) * Math.sin(lngDistance / 2);
double c = 2 * Math.atan2(Math.sqrt(a), Math.sqrt(1 - a));
return (int) (Math.round(AVERAGE_RADIUS_OF_EARTH_KM * c));
}
Note that here we are rounding the answer to the nearest km.
Thanks very much for all this. I used the following code in my Objective-C iPhone app:
const double PIx = 3.141592653589793;
const double RADIO = 6371; // Mean radius of Earth in Km
double convertToRadians(double val) {
return val * PIx / 180;
}
-(double)kilometresBetweenPlace1:(CLLocationCoordinate2D) place1 andPlace2:(CLLocationCoordinate2D) place2 {
double dlon = convertToRadians(place2.longitude - place1.longitude);
double dlat = convertToRadians(place2.latitude - place1.latitude);
double a = ( pow(sin(dlat / 2), 2) + cos(convertToRadians(place1.latitude))) * cos(convertToRadians(place2.latitude)) * pow(sin(dlon / 2), 2);
double angle = 2 * asin(sqrt(a));
return angle * RADIO;
}
Latitude and Longitude are in decimal. I didn't use min() for the asin() call as the distances that I'm using are so small that they don't require it.
It gave incorrect answers until I passed in the values in Radians - now it's pretty much the same as the values obtained from Apple's Map app :-)
Extra update:
If you are using iOS4 or later then Apple provide some methods to do this so the same functionality would be achieved with:
-(double)kilometresBetweenPlace1:(CLLocationCoordinate2D) place1 andPlace2:(CLLocationCoordinate2D) place2 {
MKMapPoint start, finish;
start = MKMapPointForCoordinate(place1);
finish = MKMapPointForCoordinate(place2);
return MKMetersBetweenMapPoints(start, finish) / 1000;
}
This is a simple PHP function that will give a very reasonable approximation (under +/-1% error margin).
<?php
function distance($lat1, $lon1, $lat2, $lon2) {
$pi80 = M_PI / 180;
$lat1 *= $pi80;
$lon1 *= $pi80;
$lat2 *= $pi80;
$lon2 *= $pi80;
$r = 6372.797; // mean radius of Earth in km
$dlat = $lat2 - $lat1;
$dlon = $lon2 - $lon1;
$a = sin($dlat / 2) * sin($dlat / 2) + cos($lat1) * cos($lat2) * sin($dlon / 2) * sin($dlon / 2);
$c = 2 * atan2(sqrt($a), sqrt(1 - $a));
$km = $r * $c;
//echo '<br/>'.$km;
return $km;
}
?>
As said before; the earth is NOT a sphere. It is like an old, old baseball that Mark McGwire decided to practice with - it is full of dents and bumps. The simpler calculations (like this) treat it like a sphere.
Different methods may be more or less precise according to where you are on this irregular ovoid AND how far apart your points are (the closer they are the smaller the absolute error margin). The more precise your expectation, the more complex the math.
For more info: wikipedia geographic distance
I post here my working example.
List all points in table having distance between a designated point (we use a random point - lat:45.20327, long:23.7806) less than 50 KM, with latitude & longitude, in MySQL (the table fields are coord_lat and coord_long):
List all having DISTANCE<50, in Kilometres (considered Earth radius 6371 KM):
SELECT denumire, (6371 * acos( cos( radians(45.20327) ) * cos( radians( coord_lat ) ) * cos( radians( 23.7806 ) - radians(coord_long) ) + sin( radians(45.20327) ) * sin( radians(coord_lat) ) )) AS distanta
FROM obiective
WHERE coord_lat<>''
AND coord_long<>''
HAVING distanta<50
ORDER BY distanta desc
The above example was tested in MySQL 5.0.95 and 5.5.16 (Linux).
In the other answers an implementation in r is missing.
Calculating the distance between two point is quite straightforward with the distm function from the geosphere package:
distm(p1, p2, fun = distHaversine)
where:
p1 = longitude/latitude for point(s)
p2 = longitude/latitude for point(s)
# type of distance calculation
fun = distCosine / distHaversine / distVincentySphere / distVincentyEllipsoid
As the earth is not perfectly spherical, the Vincenty formula for ellipsoids is probably the best way to calculate distances. Thus in the geosphere package you use then:
distm(p1, p2, fun = distVincentyEllipsoid)
Off course you don't necessarily have to use geosphere package, you can also calculate the distance in base R with a function:
hav.dist <- function(long1, lat1, long2, lat2) {
R <- 6371
diff.long <- (long2 - long1)
diff.lat <- (lat2 - lat1)
a <- sin(diff.lat/2)^2 + cos(lat1) * cos(lat2) * sin(diff.long/2)^2
b <- 2 * asin(pmin(1, sqrt(a)))
d = R * b
return(d)
}
The haversine is definitely a good formula for probably most cases, other answers already include it so I am not going to take the space. But it is important to note that no matter what formula is used (yes not just one). Because of the huge range of accuracy possible as well as the computation time required. The choice of formula requires a bit more thought than a simple no brainer answer.
This posting from a person at nasa, is the best one I found at discussing the options
http://www.cs.nyu.edu/visual/home/proj/tiger/gisfaq.html
For example, if you are just sorting rows by distance in a 100 miles radius. The flat earth formula will be much faster than the haversine.
HalfPi = 1.5707963;
R = 3956; /* the radius gives you the measurement unit*/
a = HalfPi - latoriginrad;
b = HalfPi - latdestrad;
u = a * a + b * b;
v = - 2 * a * b * cos(longdestrad - longoriginrad);
c = sqrt(abs(u + v));
return R * c;
Notice there is just one cosine and one square root. Vs 9 of them on the Haversine formula.
There could be a simpler solution, and more correct: The perimeter of earth is 40,000Km at the equator, about 37,000 on Greenwich (or any longitude) cycle. Thus:
pythagoras = function (lat1, lon1, lat2, lon2) {
function sqr(x) {return x * x;}
function cosDeg(x) {return Math.cos(x * Math.PI / 180.0);}
var earthCyclePerimeter = 40000000.0 * cosDeg((lat1 + lat2) / 2.0);
var dx = (lon1 - lon2) * earthCyclePerimeter / 360.0;
var dy = 37000000.0 * (lat1 - lat2) / 360.0;
return Math.sqrt(sqr(dx) + sqr(dy));
};
I agree that it should be fine-tuned as, I myself said that it's an ellipsoid, so the radius to be multiplied by the cosine varies. But it's a bit more accurate. Compared with Google Maps and it did reduce the error significantly.
pip install haversine
Python implementation
Origin is the center of the contiguous United States.
from haversine import haversine, Unit
origin = (39.50, 98.35)
paris = (48.8567, 2.3508)
haversine(origin, paris, unit=Unit.MILES)
To get the answer in kilometers simply set unit=Unit.KILOMETERS (that's the default).
There is some errors in the code provided, I've fixed it below.
All the above answers assumes the earth is a sphere. However, a more accurate approximation would be that of an oblate spheroid.
a= 6378.137#equitorial radius in km
b= 6356.752#polar radius in km
def Distance(lat1, lons1, lat2, lons2):
lat1=math.radians(lat1)
lons1=math.radians(lons1)
R1=(((((a**2)*math.cos(lat1))**2)+(((b**2)*math.sin(lat1))**2))/((a*math.cos(lat1))**2+(b*math.sin(lat1))**2))**0.5 #radius of earth at lat1
x1=R1*math.cos(lat1)*math.cos(lons1)
y1=R1*math.cos(lat1)*math.sin(lons1)
z1=R1*math.sin(lat1)
lat2=math.radians(lat2)
lons2=math.radians(lons2)
R2=(((((a**2)*math.cos(lat2))**2)+(((b**2)*math.sin(lat2))**2))/((a*math.cos(lat2))**2+(b*math.sin(lat2))**2))**0.5 #radius of earth at lat2
x2=R2*math.cos(lat2)*math.cos(lons2)
y2=R2*math.cos(lat2)*math.sin(lons2)
z2=R2*math.sin(lat2)
return ((x1-x2)**2+(y1-y2)**2+(z1-z2)**2)**0.5
I don't like adding yet another answer, but the Google maps API v.3 has spherical geometry (and more). After converting your WGS84 to decimal degrees you can do this:
<script src="http://maps.google.com/maps/api/js?sensor=false&libraries=geometry" type="text/javascript"></script>
distance = google.maps.geometry.spherical.computeDistanceBetween(
new google.maps.LatLng(fromLat, fromLng),
new google.maps.LatLng(toLat, toLng));
No word about how accurate Google's calculations are or even what model is used (though it does say "spherical" rather than "geoid". By the way, the "straight line" distance will obviously be different from the distance if one travels on the surface of the earth which is what everyone seems to be presuming.
You can use the build in CLLocationDistance to calculate this:
CLLocation *location1 = [[CLLocation alloc] initWithLatitude:latitude1 longitude:longitude1];
CLLocation *location2 = [[CLLocation alloc] initWithLatitude:latitude2 longitude:longitude2];
[self distanceInMetersFromLocation:location1 toLocation:location2]
- (int)distanceInMetersFromLocation:(CLLocation*)location1 toLocation:(CLLocation*)location2 {
CLLocationDistance distanceInMeters = [location1 distanceFromLocation:location2];
return distanceInMeters;
}
In your case if you want kilometers just divide by 1000.
As pointed out, an accurate calculation should take into account that the earth is not a perfect sphere. Here are some comparisons of the various algorithms offered here:
geoDistance(50,5,58,3)
Haversine: 899 km
Maymenn: 833 km
Keerthana: 897 km
google.maps.geometry.spherical.computeDistanceBetween(): 900 km
geoDistance(50,5,-58,-3)
Haversine: 12030 km
Maymenn: 11135 km
Keerthana: 10310 km
google.maps.geometry.spherical.computeDistanceBetween(): 12044 km
geoDistance(.05,.005,.058,.003)
Haversine: 0.9169 km
Maymenn: 0.851723 km
Keerthana: 0.917964 km
google.maps.geometry.spherical.computeDistanceBetween(): 0.917964 km
geoDistance(.05,80,.058,80.3)
Haversine: 33.37 km
Maymenn: 33.34 km
Keerthana: 33.40767 km
google.maps.geometry.spherical.computeDistanceBetween(): 33.40770 km
Over small distances, Keerthana's algorithm does seem to coincide with that of Google Maps. Google Maps does not seem to follow any simple algorithm, suggesting that it may be the most accurate method here.
Anyway, here is a Javascript implementation of Keerthana's algorithm:
function geoDistance(lat1, lng1, lat2, lng2){
const a = 6378.137; // equitorial radius in km
const b = 6356.752; // polar radius in km
var sq = x => (x*x);
var sqr = x => Math.sqrt(x);
var cos = x => Math.cos(x);
var sin = x => Math.sin(x);
var radius = lat => sqr((sq(a*a*cos(lat))+sq(b*b*sin(lat)))/(sq(a*cos(lat))+sq(b*sin(lat))));
lat1 = lat1 * Math.PI / 180;
lng1 = lng1 * Math.PI / 180;
lat2 = lat2 * Math.PI / 180;
lng2 = lng2 * Math.PI / 180;
var R1 = radius(lat1);
var x1 = R1*cos(lat1)*cos(lng1);
var y1 = R1*cos(lat1)*sin(lng1);
var z1 = R1*sin(lat1);
var R2 = radius(lat2);
var x2 = R2*cos(lat2)*cos(lng2);
var y2 = R2*cos(lat2)*sin(lng2);
var z2 = R2*sin(lat2);
return sqr(sq(x1-x2)+sq(y1-y2)+sq(z1-z2));
}
Here is a typescript implementation of the Haversine formula
static getDistanceFromLatLonInKm(lat1: number, lon1: number, lat2: number, lon2: number): number {
var deg2Rad = deg => {
return deg * Math.PI / 180;
}
var r = 6371; // Radius of the earth in km
var dLat = deg2Rad(lat2 - lat1);
var dLon = deg2Rad(lon2 - lon1);
var a =
Math.sin(dLat / 2) * Math.sin(dLat / 2) +
Math.cos(deg2Rad(lat1)) * Math.cos(deg2Rad(lat2)) *
Math.sin(dLon / 2) * Math.sin(dLon / 2);
var c = 2 * Math.atan2(Math.sqrt(a), Math.sqrt(1 - a));
var d = r * c; // Distance in km
return d;
}
Here is the SQL Implementation to calculate the distance in km,
SELECT UserId, ( 3959 * acos( cos( radians( your latitude here ) ) * cos( radians(latitude) ) *
cos( radians(longitude) - radians( your longitude here ) ) + sin( radians( your latitude here ) ) *
sin( radians(latitude) ) ) ) AS distance FROM user HAVING
distance < 5 ORDER BY distance LIMIT 0 , 5;
For further details in the implementation by programming langugage, you can just go through the php script given here
This script [in PHP] calculates distances between the two points.
public static function getDistanceOfTwoPoints($source, $dest, $unit='K') {
$lat1 = $source[0];
$lon1 = $source[1];
$lat2 = $dest[0];
$lon2 = $dest[1];
$theta = $lon1 - $lon2;
$dist = sin(deg2rad($lat1)) * sin(deg2rad($lat2)) + cos(deg2rad($lat1)) * cos(deg2rad($lat2)) * cos(deg2rad($theta));
$dist = acos($dist);
$dist = rad2deg($dist);
$miles = $dist * 60 * 1.1515;
$unit = strtoupper($unit);
if ($unit == "K") {
return ($miles * 1.609344);
}
else if ($unit == "M")
{
return ($miles * 1.609344 * 1000);
}
else if ($unit == "N") {
return ($miles * 0.8684);
}
else {
return $miles;
}
}
here is an example in postgres sql (in km, for miles version, replace 1.609344 by 0.8684 version)
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION public.geodistance(alat float, alng float, blat
float, blng float)
RETURNS float AS
$BODY$
DECLARE
v_distance float;
BEGIN
v_distance = asin( sqrt(
sin(radians(blat-alat)/2)^2
+ (
(sin(radians(blng-alng)/2)^2) *
cos(radians(alat)) *
cos(radians(blat))
)
)
) * cast('7926.3352' as float) * cast('1.609344' as float) ;
RETURN v_distance;
END
$BODY$
language plpgsql VOLATILE SECURITY DEFINER;
alter function geodistance(alat float, alng float, blat float, blng float)
owner to postgres;
Java implementation in according Haversine formula
double calculateDistance(double latPoint1, double lngPoint1,
double latPoint2, double lngPoint2) {
if(latPoint1 == latPoint2 && lngPoint1 == lngPoint2) {
return 0d;
}
final double EARTH_RADIUS = 6371.0; //km value;
//converting to radians
latPoint1 = Math.toRadians(latPoint1);
lngPoint1 = Math.toRadians(lngPoint1);
latPoint2 = Math.toRadians(latPoint2);
lngPoint2 = Math.toRadians(lngPoint2);
double distance = Math.pow(Math.sin((latPoint2 - latPoint1) / 2.0), 2)
+ Math.cos(latPoint1) * Math.cos(latPoint2)
* Math.pow(Math.sin((lngPoint2 - lngPoint1) / 2.0), 2);
distance = 2.0 * EARTH_RADIUS * Math.asin(Math.sqrt(distance));
return distance; //km value
}
I made a custom function in R to calculate haversine distance(km) between two spatial points using functions available in R base package.
custom_hav_dist <- function(lat1, lon1, lat2, lon2) {
R <- 6371
Radian_factor <- 0.0174533
lat_1 <- (90-lat1)*Radian_factor
lat_2 <- (90-lat2)*Radian_factor
diff_long <-(lon1-lon2)*Radian_factor
distance_in_km <- 6371*acos((cos(lat_1)*cos(lat_2))+
(sin(lat_1)*sin(lat_2)*cos(diff_long)))
rm(lat1, lon1, lat2, lon2)
return(distance_in_km)
}
Sample output
custom_hav_dist(50.31,19.08,54.14,19.39)
[1] 426.3987
PS: To calculate distances in miles, substitute R in function (6371) with 3958.756 (and for nautical miles, use 3440.065).
To calculate the distance between two points on a sphere you need to do the Great Circle calculation.
There are a number of C/C++ libraries to help with map projection at MapTools if you need to reproject your distances to a flat surface. To do this you will need the projection string of the various coordinate systems.
You may also find MapWindow a useful tool to visualise the points. Also as its open source its a useful guide to how to use the proj.dll library, which appears to be the core open source projection library.
Here is my java implementation for calculation distance via decimal degrees after some search. I used mean radius of world (from wikipedia) in km. İf you want result miles then use world radius in miles.
public static double distanceLatLong2(double lat1, double lng1, double lat2, double lng2)
{
double earthRadius = 6371.0d; // KM: use mile here if you want mile result
double dLat = toRadian(lat2 - lat1);
double dLng = toRadian(lng2 - lng1);
double a = Math.pow(Math.sin(dLat/2), 2) +
Math.cos(toRadian(lat1)) * Math.cos(toRadian(lat2)) *
Math.pow(Math.sin(dLng/2), 2);
double c = 2 * Math.atan2(Math.sqrt(a), Math.sqrt(1-a));
return earthRadius * c; // returns result kilometers
}
public static double toRadian(double degrees)
{
return (degrees * Math.PI) / 180.0d;
}
Here's the accepted answer implementation ported to Java in case anyone needs it.
package com.project529.garage.util;
/**
* Mean radius.
*/
private static double EARTH_RADIUS = 6371;
/**
* Returns the distance between two sets of latitudes and longitudes in meters.
* <p/>
* Based from the following JavaScript SO answer:
* http://stackoverflow.com/questions/27928/calculate-distance-between-two-latitude-longitude-points-haversine-formula,
* which is based on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haversine_formula (error rate: ~0.55%).
*/
public double getDistanceBetween(double lat1, double lon1, double lat2, double lon2) {
double dLat = toRadians(lat2 - lat1);
double dLon = toRadians(lon2 - lon1);
double a = Math.sin(dLat / 2) * Math.sin(dLat / 2) +
Math.cos(toRadians(lat1)) * Math.cos(toRadians(lat2)) *
Math.sin(dLon / 2) * Math.sin(dLon / 2);
double c = 2 * Math.atan2(Math.sqrt(a), Math.sqrt(1 - a));
double d = EARTH_RADIUS * c;
return d;
}
public double toRadians(double degrees) {
return degrees * (Math.PI / 180);
}
For those looking for an Excel formula based on WGS-84 & GRS-80 standards:
=ACOS(COS(RADIANS(90-Lat1))*COS(RADIANS(90-Lat2))+SIN(RADIANS(90-Lat1))*SIN(RADIANS(90-Lat2))*COS(RADIANS(Long1-Long2)))*6371
Source
there is a good example in here to calculate distance with PHP http://www.geodatasource.com/developers/php :
function distance($lat1, $lon1, $lat2, $lon2, $unit) {
$theta = $lon1 - $lon2;
$dist = sin(deg2rad($lat1)) * sin(deg2rad($lat2)) + cos(deg2rad($lat1)) * cos(deg2rad($lat2)) * cos(deg2rad($theta));
$dist = acos($dist);
$dist = rad2deg($dist);
$miles = $dist * 60 * 1.1515;
$unit = strtoupper($unit);
if ($unit == "K") {
return ($miles * 1.609344);
} else if ($unit == "N") {
return ($miles * 0.8684);
} else {
return $miles;
}
}
Here is the implementation VB.NET, this implementation will give you the result in KM or Miles based on an Enum value you pass.
Public Enum DistanceType
Miles
KiloMeters
End Enum
Public Structure Position
Public Latitude As Double
Public Longitude As Double
End Structure
Public Class Haversine
Public Function Distance(Pos1 As Position,
Pos2 As Position,
DistType As DistanceType) As Double
Dim R As Double = If((DistType = DistanceType.Miles), 3960, 6371)
Dim dLat As Double = Me.toRadian(Pos2.Latitude - Pos1.Latitude)
Dim dLon As Double = Me.toRadian(Pos2.Longitude - Pos1.Longitude)
Dim a As Double = Math.Sin(dLat / 2) * Math.Sin(dLat / 2) + Math.Cos(Me.toRadian(Pos1.Latitude)) * Math.Cos(Me.toRadian(Pos2.Latitude)) * Math.Sin(dLon / 2) * Math.Sin(dLon / 2)
Dim c As Double = 2 * Math.Asin(Math.Min(1, Math.Sqrt(a)))
Dim result As Double = R * c
Return result
End Function
Private Function toRadian(val As Double) As Double
Return (Math.PI / 180) * val
End Function
End Class
I condensed the computation down by simplifying the formula.
Here it is in Ruby:
include Math
earth_radius_mi = 3959
radians = lambda { |deg| deg * PI / 180 }
coord_radians = lambda { |c| { :lat => radians[c[:lat]], :lng => radians[c[:lng]] } }
# from/to = { :lat => (latitude_in_degrees), :lng => (longitude_in_degrees) }
def haversine_distance(from, to)
from, to = coord_radians[from], coord_radians[to]
cosines_product = cos(to[:lat]) * cos(from[:lat]) * cos(from[:lng] - to[:lng])
sines_product = sin(to[:lat]) * sin(from[:lat])
return earth_radius_mi * acos(cosines_product + sines_product)
end
function getDistanceFromLatLonInKm(lat1,lon1,lat2,lon2,units) {
var R = 6371; // Radius of the earth in km
var dLat = deg2rad(lat2-lat1); // deg2rad below
var dLon = deg2rad(lon2-lon1);
var a =
Math.sin(dLat/2) * Math.sin(dLat/2) +
Math.cos(deg2rad(lat1)) * Math.cos(deg2rad(lat2)) *
Math.sin(dLon/2) * Math.sin(dLon/2)
;
var c = 2 * Math.atan2(Math.sqrt(a), Math.sqrt(1-a));
var d = R * c;
var miles = d / 1.609344;
if ( units == 'km' ) {
return d;
} else {
return miles;
}}
Chuck's solution, valid for miles also.
In Mysql use the following function pass the parameters as using POINT(LONG,LAT)
CREATE FUNCTION `distance`(a POINT, b POINT)
RETURNS double
DETERMINISTIC
BEGIN
RETURN
GLength( LineString(( PointFromWKB(a)), (PointFromWKB(b)))) * 100000; -- To Make the distance in meters
END;

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