Voronoi diagrams and their use
Voronoi? That’s an interesting word. Depending on what you work on, you may or may have not heard of Voronoi Diagrams. Voronoi diagrams are all about finding the closest point. We use this in our everyday lives, from trying to find the closest supermarket, train station, etc.
A plane that is divided up into cells, covering a specific region that is close to a particular point — that point is what we are trying to find. This plane is known as a Voronoi diagram and was named after Georgy Voronoi, a Ukrainian mathematician.
Or maybe you’re not trying to find the nearest location to go buy your groceries, maybe you’re an investor and you are looking for a new location for your office. Voronoi diagrams can be used to find the largest empty circle which has a lot of points inside, making it ideal for space and local amenities.
The visuals of a Voronoi diagram can be found in nature, animals, maps, and more. The application of Voronoi diagrams are heavily used in areas of engineering and science. For example:
- Biology: describing and better understanding the structures and environment of cells
- Ecology: analyze the structure of plants
- Zoology: analyzing the territorial land between animals
- Weather: calculate the rainfall of an area
