Name

ST_DistanceCPA — Returns the distance between the closest point of approach of two trajectories.

Synopsis

float8 ST_DistanceCPA(geometry track1, geometry track2);

Description

Returns the distance (in 2D) between two trajectories at their closest point of approach.

Inputs must be valid trajectories as checked by ST_IsValidTrajectory. Null is returned if the trajectories do not overlap in their M ranges.

Availability: 2.2.0

This function supports 3d and will not drop the z-index.

Examples

-- Return the minimum distance of two objects moving between 10:00 and 11:00
WITH inp AS ( SELECT
  ST_AddMeasure('LINESTRING Z (0 0 0, 10 0 5)'::geometry,
    extract(epoch from '2015-05-26 10:00'::timestamptz),
    extract(epoch from '2015-05-26 11:00'::timestamptz)
  ) a,
  ST_AddMeasure('LINESTRING Z (0 2 10, 12 1 2)'::geometry,
    extract(epoch from '2015-05-26 10:00'::timestamptz),
    extract(epoch from '2015-05-26 11:00'::timestamptz)
  ) b
)
SELECT ST_DistanceCPA(a,b) distance FROM inp;

     distance
------------------
 1.96036833151395