equirectangularDistance static method
Calculates the distance between two geographic points using the Equirectangular approximation formula and the Earth's radius.
The Equirectangular approximation formula is a simple method to estimate the distance between two points on the Earth's surface, assuming a perfect sphere. While not as accurate as more complex methods, it is computationally efficient and suitable for shorter distances.
point1 - The first LatLng object representing the latitude and longitude
coordinates of the first point.
point2 - The second LatLng object representing the latitude and
longitude coordinates of the second point.
Returns the distance between the two points in kilometers, calculated using the Equirectangular approximation formula.
Implementation
static double equirectangularDistance(LatLng point1, LatLng point2) {
// Earth's radius in kilometers.
final double radius = 6371.0;
// Extract latitude and longitude values from the LatLng objects.
double lat1 = point1.latitude;
double lon1 = point1.longitude;
double lat2 = point2.latitude;
double lon2 = point2.longitude;
// Calculate the differences in longitude and latitude.
double x = (lon2 - lon1) * (radius * cos((lat1 + lat2) / 2));
double y = (lat2 - lat1) * radius;
// Calculate the distance using the Pythagorean theorem.
double distance = sqrt(x * x + y * y);
return distance;
}