Navigating the Maps: Euclidean vs. Road Network Distances in Spatial Queries

Using spatial data in mobile applications has grown significantly, thereby empowering users to explore locations, navigate unfamiliar areas, find transportation routes, employ geomarketing strategies, and model environmental factors. Spatial databases are pivotal in efficiently storing, retrieving, and manipulating spatial data to fulfill users’ needs. Two fundamental spatial query types, k-nearest neighbors (kNN) and range search, enable users to access specific points of interest (POIs) based on their location, which are measured by actual road distance. However, retrieving the nearest POIs using actual road distance can be computationally intensive due to the need to find the shortest distance. Using straight-line measurements could expedite the process but might compromise accuracy. Consequently, this study aims to evaluate the accuracy of the Euclidean distance method in POIs retrieval by comparing it with the road network distance method. The primary focus is determining whether the trade-off between computational time and accuracy is justified, thus employing the Open Source Routing Machine (OSRM) for distance extraction. The assessment encompasses diverse scenarios and analyses factors influencing the accuracy of the Euclidean distance method. The methodology employs a quantitative approach, thereby categorizing query points based on density and analyzing them using kNN and range query methods. Accuracy in the Euclidean distance method is evaluated against the road network distance method. The results demonstrate peak accuracy for kNN queries at k=1, thus exceeding 85% across classes but declining as k increases. Range queries show varied accuracy based on POI density, with higher-density classes exhibiting earlier accuracy increases. Notably, datasets with fewer POIs exhibit unexpectedly higher accuracy, thereby providing valuable insights into spatial query processing.