- Fréchet distance
In mathematics, the Fréchet distance is a measure of similarity between
curve s that takes into account the location and ordering of the points along the curves.Intuitive explanation
The Fréchet distance between two curves can be defined intuitively as follows. A man is walking a dog on a leash. The man can move on one curve, the dog on the other. Both may vary their speed, but backtracking is not allowed. The Fréchet distance is the length of the shortest leash that is sufficient for traversing both curves.
Formal explanation
The Frechet distance between two curves, "C1" and "C2" in the plane, is the supremum of the set:
"S" = {"d(x,y)" | "x" is in "C1" and "y" is in "C2"}
Note that: Both curves must be bounded for the Frechet distance to be formally defined.
Reference
* Computing Discrete Fréchet Distance — Thomas Eiter and Heikki Mannila
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.