v.voronoi(1)

NAME
v.voronoi - Creates a Voronoi diagram constrained to the extents of the current region from an input vector map containing points or centroids.

KEYWORDS
vector, geometry, triangulation, skeleton

SYNOPSIS
v.voronoi
v.voronoi --help
v.voronoi [-aslt] input=name [layer=string] output=name [smoothness=float] [thin=float] [--overwrite] [--help] [--verbose] [--quiet] [--ui]

  Flags:

-a
    Create Voronoi diagram for input areas

-s
    Extract skeletons for input areas

-l
    Output tessellation as a graph (lines), not areas

-t
    Do not create attribute table

--overwrite
    Allow output files to overwrite existing files

--help
    Print usage summary

--verbose
    Verbose module output

--quiet
    Quiet module output

--ui
    Force launching GUI dialog

  Parameters:

input=name [required]
    Name of input vector map
    Or data source for direct OGR access

layer=string
    Layer number or name (’-1’ for all layers)
    A single vector map can be connected to multiple database tables. This number determines which table to use. When used with direct OGR access this is the layer name.
    Default: -1

output=name [required]
    Name for output vector map

smoothness=float
    Factor for output smoothness
    Applies to input areas only. Smaller values produce smoother output but can cause numerical instability.
    Default: 0.25

thin=float
    Maximum dangle length of skeletons
    Applies only to skeleton extraction. Default = -1 will extract the center line.
    Default: -1

DESCRIPTION
v.voronoi creates a Voronoi diagram (Thiessen polygons) from points or centroids.

The bounds of the output map are limited by the current region (see g.region).

The -a flag can be used to create a Voronoi diagram for areas.

The -s flag can be used to extract the center line of areas or skeletons of areas with thin >= 0. Smaller values for the thin option will preserve more detail, while negative values will extract only the center line.

NOTES
v.voronoi suffers from numerical instability, results can sometimes contain many artefacts. When creating Voronoi diagrams for areas or skeletons for areas, it is highly recommended to simplify the areas first with v.generalize.

Voronoi diagrams may be used for nearest-neighbor flood filling. Give the centroids attributes (start with v.db.addcolumn), then optionally convert the result to a raster map with v.to.rast.

The extraction of skeletons and center lines with the -s flag is a brute force approach. Faster and more accurate algorithms to extract skeletons from areas exist but are not yet implemented. In the meantime, skeletons and center lines can be simplified with the Douglas-Peucker algorithm: v.generalize method=douglas.

EXAMPLE

  Voronoi diagram for points
This example uses the hospitals in the North Carolina dataset.

g.region -p raster=elev_state_500m
v.voronoi input=hospitals output=hospitals_voronoi

Result:
Voronoi diagram for hospitals in North Carolina

  Voronoi diagram for areas
This example uses urban areas in the North Carolina dataset.

g.region -p n=162500 s=80000 w=727000 e=846000 res=500
v.voronoi input=urbanarea output=urbanarea_voronoi -a

Result:
Voronoi diagram for urban areas in North Carolina

  Skeletons and center lines of areas
This example uses urban areas in the North Carolina dataset.

g.region -p n=161000 s=135500 w=768500 e=805500 res=500
v.voronoi input=urbanarea output=urbanarea_centerline -s
v.voronoi input=urbanarea output=urbanarea_skeleton -s thin=2000

Result:
Skeleton (blue) and center line (red) for urban areas in North Carolina

REFERENCES
Steve J. Fortune, (1987). A Sweepline Algorithm for Voronoi Diagrams, Algorithmica 2, 153-174 (DOI).

SEE ALSO
g.region, v.delaunay, v.hull

AUTHORS
James Darrell McCauley, Purdue University
GRASS 5 update, improvements: Andrea Aime, Modena, Italy
GRASS 5.7 update: Radim Blazek
Markus Metz

SOURCE CODE

Available at: v.voronoi source code (history)

Accessed: Sunday Jun 28 03:49:48 2026

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