Create planar and geodetic buffers

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Create a buffer around a map point and display the results as a Graphic.

Image of Create planar and geodetic buffers

Use case

Creating buffers is a core concept in GIS proximity analysis that allows you to visualize and locate geographic features contained within a polygon. For example, suppose you wanted to visualize areas of your city where alcohol sales are prohibited because they are within 500 meters of a school. The first step in this proximity analysis would be to generate 500 meter buffer polygons around all schools in the city. Any such businesses you find inside one of the resulting polygons are violating the law.

How to use the sample

Tap on the map. A planar and a geodesic buffer will be created at the tap location using the distance (miles) specified in the text box. Continue tapping to create additional buffers. Notice that buffers closer to the equator appear similar in size. As you move north or south from the equator, however, the geodesic polygons become much larger. Geodesic polygons are in fact a better representation of the true shape and size of the buffer. Tap Clear to remove all buffers and start again.

How it works

  1. The map Point for a tap on the display is captured.
  2. The static method GeometryEngine.buffer is called to create a planar buffer polygon from the map location and distance.
  3. Another static method, GeometryEngine.bufferGeodetic is called to create a geodesic buffer polygon using the same inputs.
  4. The polygon results (and tap location) are displayed in the map view with different symbols in order to highlight the difference between the buffer techniques due to the spatial reference used in the planar calculation.

Relevant API

  • GeometryEngine.buffer
  • GeometryEngine.bufferGeodetic
  • GraphicsOverlay

Additional information

Buffers can be generated as either planar (flat - coordinate space of the map's spatial reference) or geodesic (technique that considers the curved shape of the Earth's surface, which is generally a more accurate representation). In general, distortion in the map increases as you move away from the standard parallels of the spatial reference's projection. This map is in Web Mercator so areas near the equator are the most accurate. As you move the buffer location north or south from that line, you'll see a greater difference in the polygon size and shape. Planar operations are generally faster, but performance improvement may only be noticeable for large operations (buffering a great number or complex geometry).

For more information about using buffer analysis, see the topic How Buffer (Analysis) works in the ArcGIS Pro documentation.

Tags

analysis, buffer, euclidean, geodesic, geometry, planar

Sample Code

MainActivity.kt
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/* Copyright 2022 Esri
 *
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 * limitations under the License.
 *
 */

package com.esri.arcgismaps.sample.createplanarandgeodeticbuffers

import android.os.Bundle
import android.view.View
import android.widget.TextView
import androidx.appcompat.app.AppCompatActivity
import androidx.databinding.DataBindingUtil
import androidx.lifecycle.lifecycleScope
import com.arcgismaps.ApiKey
import com.arcgismaps.ArcGISEnvironment
import com.arcgismaps.Color
import com.arcgismaps.geometry.GeodeticCurveType
import com.arcgismaps.geometry.GeometryEngine
import com.arcgismaps.geometry.LinearUnit
import com.arcgismaps.geometry.LinearUnitId
import com.arcgismaps.mapping.ArcGISMap
import com.arcgismaps.mapping.BasemapStyle
import com.arcgismaps.mapping.symbology.SimpleFillSymbol
import com.arcgismaps.mapping.symbology.SimpleFillSymbolStyle
import com.arcgismaps.mapping.symbology.SimpleLineSymbol
import com.arcgismaps.mapping.symbology.SimpleLineSymbolStyle
import com.arcgismaps.mapping.symbology.SimpleMarkerSymbol
import com.arcgismaps.mapping.symbology.SimpleMarkerSymbolStyle
import com.arcgismaps.mapping.symbology.SimpleRenderer
import com.arcgismaps.mapping.view.Graphic
import com.arcgismaps.mapping.view.GraphicsOverlay
import com.esri.arcgismaps.sample.createplanarandgeodeticbuffers.databinding.ActivityMainBinding
import com.google.android.material.dialog.MaterialAlertDialogBuilder
import com.google.android.material.slider.Slider
import kotlinx.coroutines.launch
import java.util.Locale

class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {

    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)

        // authentication with an API key or named user is
        // required to access basemaps and other location services
        ArcGISEnvironment.apiKey = ApiKey.create(BuildConfig.API_KEY)

        // set up data binding for the activity
        val activityMainBinding: ActivityMainBinding =
            DataBindingUtil.setContentView(this, R.layout.activity_main)

        // get the views from the layout
        val mapView = activityMainBinding.mapView
        val optionsButton = activityMainBinding.optionsButton
        val clearButton = activityMainBinding.clearButton
        // add mapview to the lifecycle
        lifecycle.addObserver(mapView)

        // create a map with a topographic basemap
        mapView.map = ArcGISMap(BasemapStyle.ArcGISTopographic)

        // create a fill symbol for geodesic buffer polygons
        val geodesicOutlineSymbol = SimpleLineSymbol(SimpleLineSymbolStyle.Solid, Color.black, 2F)
        val geodesicBufferFillSymbol = SimpleFillSymbol(
            SimpleFillSymbolStyle.Solid, Color.green,
            geodesicOutlineSymbol
        )

        // create a graphics overlay to display geodesic polygons and set its renderer
        val geodesicGraphicsOverlay = GraphicsOverlay().apply {
            renderer = SimpleRenderer(geodesicBufferFillSymbol)
            opacity = 0.5f
        }

        // create a fill symbol for planar buffer polygons
        val planarOutlineSymbol = SimpleLineSymbol(SimpleLineSymbolStyle.Solid, Color.black, 2F)
        val planarBufferFillSymbol = SimpleFillSymbol(
            SimpleFillSymbolStyle.Solid, Color.red,
            planarOutlineSymbol
        )

        // create a graphics overlay to display planar polygons and set its renderer
        val planarGraphicsOverlay = GraphicsOverlay().apply {
            renderer = SimpleRenderer(planarBufferFillSymbol)
            opacity = 0.5f
        }

        // create a marker symbol for tap locations
        val tapSymbol = SimpleMarkerSymbol(SimpleMarkerSymbolStyle.Cross, Color.white, 14F)

        // create a graphics overlay to display tap locations for buffers and set its renderer
        val tapLocationsOverlay = GraphicsOverlay().apply {
            renderer = SimpleRenderer(tapSymbol)
        }

        // add overlays to the mapView
        mapView.graphicsOverlays.addAll(
            listOf(
                geodesicGraphicsOverlay,
                planarGraphicsOverlay,
                tapLocationsOverlay
            )
        )

        // set the default buffer distance in miles
        var bufferInMiles = 500f

        // create a buffer around the clicked location
        lifecycleScope.launch {
            mapView.onSingleTapConfirmed.collect { event ->
                // get map point tapped, return if null
                val mapPoint = event.mapPoint ?: return@collect

                // convert the input distance to meters, 1609.34 meters in one mile
                val bufferInMeters = bufferInMiles * 1609.34

                // create a planar buffer graphic around the input location at the specified distance
                val bufferGeometryPlanar = GeometryEngine.bufferOrNull(mapPoint, bufferInMeters)
                val planarBufferGraphic = Graphic(bufferGeometryPlanar)

                // create a geodesic buffer graphic using the same location and distance
                val bufferGeometryGeodesic =
                    GeometryEngine.bufferGeodeticOrNull(
                        mapPoint, bufferInMeters,
                        LinearUnit(LinearUnitId.Meters), Double.NaN, GeodeticCurveType.Geodesic
                    )
                val geodesicBufferGraphic = Graphic(bufferGeometryGeodesic)

                // create a graphic for the user tap location
                val locationGraphic = Graphic(mapPoint)

                // add the buffer polygons and tap location graphics to the appropriate graphic overlays
                planarGraphicsOverlay.graphics.add(planarBufferGraphic)
                geodesicGraphicsOverlay.graphics.add(geodesicBufferGraphic)
                tapLocationsOverlay.graphics.add(locationGraphic)

                // set button interaction
                clearButton.isEnabled = true

            }
        }
        // open the option dialog
        optionsButton.setOnClickListener {
            val optionsDialog: View = layoutInflater.inflate(R.layout.buffer_options_dialog, null)
            // set up the dialog builder and the title
            val dialogBuilder = MaterialAlertDialogBuilder(this)
                .setView(optionsDialog)
                .setPositiveButton("Set buffer", null)

            dialogBuilder.setTitle("Set buffer radius")
            // set up the dialog views
            val bufferValue = optionsDialog.findViewById<TextView>(R.id.bufferValue)
            val bufferSlider = optionsDialog.findViewById<Slider>(R.id.bufferInput)
            bufferSlider.value = bufferInMiles

            // set initial buffer text
            bufferValue.text = String.format(Locale.getDefault(),"%d miles", bufferSlider.value.toInt())
            bufferSlider.addOnChangeListener { _, value, _ ->
                // update buffer text value on slider change
                bufferValue.text = String.format(Locale.getDefault(),"%d miles", value.toInt())
                bufferInMiles = value
            }

            // display the dialog
            dialogBuilder.show()
        }

        // clear the graphics from the graphics overlays
        clearButton.setOnClickListener {
            planarGraphicsOverlay.graphics.clear()
            geodesicGraphicsOverlay.graphics.clear()
            tapLocationsOverlay.graphics.clear()
            // set button interaction
            clearButton.isEnabled = false
        }
    }
}

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