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Animate a point along a route

Use Turf to smoothly animate a point along the distance of a line.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <title>Animate a point along a route</title>
    <meta property="og:description" content="Use Turf to smoothly animate a point along the distance of a line." />
    <meta charset='utf-8'>
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
    <link rel='stylesheet' href='https://unpkg.com/maplibre-gl@4.7.1/dist/maplibre-gl.css' />
    <script src='https://unpkg.com/maplibre-gl@4.7.1/dist/maplibre-gl.js'></script>
    <style>
        body { margin: 0; padding: 0; }
        html, body, #map { height: 100%; }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<style>
    .overlay {
        position: absolute;
        top: 10px;
        left: 10px;
    }

    .overlay button {
        font: 600 12px/20px 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
        background-color: #3386c0;
        color: #fff;
        display: inline-block;
        margin: 0;
        padding: 10px 20px;
        border: none;
        cursor: pointer;
        border-radius: 3px;
    }

    .overlay button:hover {
        background-color: #4ea0da;
    }
</style>
<script
    src="https://www.unpkg.com/turf@2.0.0/turf.min.js"
    charset="utf-8"
></script>

<div id="map"></div>
<div class="overlay">
    <button id="replay">Replay</button>
</div>

<script>
    const map = new maplibregl.Map({
        container: 'map',
        style: 'https://api.maptiler.com/maps/streets/style.json?key=get_your_own_OpIi9ZULNHzrESv6T2vL',
        center: [-96, 37.8],
        zoom: 3
    });

    // San Francisco
    const origin = [-122.414, 37.776];

    // Washington DC
    const destination = [-77.032, 38.913];

    // A simple line from origin to destination.
    const route = {
        'type': 'FeatureCollection',
        'features': [
            {
                'type': 'Feature',
                'geometry': {
                    'type': 'LineString',
                    'coordinates': [origin, destination]
                }
            }
        ]
    };

    // A single point that animates along the route.
    // Coordinates are initially set to origin.
    const point = {
        'type': 'FeatureCollection',
        'features': [
            {
                'type': 'Feature',
                'properties': {},
                'geometry': {
                    'type': 'Point',
                    'coordinates': origin
                }
            }
        ]
    };

    // Calculate the distance in kilometers between route start/end point.
    const lineDistance = turf.lineDistance(route.features[0], 'kilometers');

    const arc = [];

    // Number of steps to use in the arc and animation, more steps means
    // a smoother arc and animation, but too many steps will result in a
    // low frame rate
    const steps = 500;

    // Draw an arc between the `origin` & `destination` of the two points
    for (let i = 0; i < lineDistance; i += lineDistance / steps) {
        const segment = turf.along(route.features[0], i, 'kilometers');
        arc.push(segment.geometry.coordinates);
    }

    // Update the route with calculated arc coordinates
    route.features[0].geometry.coordinates = arc;

    // Used to increment the value of the point measurement against the route.
    let counter = 0;

    map.on('load', () => {
        // Add a source and layer displaying a point which will be animated in a circle.
        map.addSource('route', {
            'type': 'geojson',
            'data': route
        });

        map.addSource('point', {
            'type': 'geojson',
            'data': point
        });

        map.addLayer({
            'id': 'route',
            'source': 'route',
            'type': 'line',
            'paint': {
                'line-width': 2,
                'line-color': '#007cbf'
            }
        });

        map.addLayer({
            'id': 'point',
            'source': 'point',
            'type': 'symbol',
            'layout': {
                'icon-image': 'airport_15',
                'icon-rotate': ['get', 'bearing'],
                'icon-rotation-alignment': 'map',
                'icon-overlap': 'always',
                'icon-ignore-placement': true
            }
        });

        function animate() {
            // Update point geometry to a new position based on counter denoting
            // the index to access the arc.
            point.features[0].geometry.coordinates =
                route.features[0].geometry.coordinates[counter];

            // Calculate the bearing to ensure the icon is rotated to match the route arc
            // The bearing is calculate between the current point and the next point, except
            // at the end of the arc use the previous point and the current point
            point.features[0].properties.bearing = turf.bearing(
                turf.point(
                    route.features[0].geometry.coordinates[
                        counter >= steps ? counter - 1 : counter
                    ]
                ),
                turf.point(
                    route.features[0].geometry.coordinates[
                        counter >= steps ? counter : counter + 1
                    ]
                )
            );

            // Update the source with this new data.
            map.getSource('point').setData(point);

            // Request the next frame of animation so long the end has not been reached.
            if (counter < steps) {
                requestAnimationFrame(animate);
            }

            counter = counter + 1;
        }

        document
            .getElementById('replay')
            .addEventListener('click', () => {
                // Set the coordinates of the original point back to origin
                point.features[0].geometry.coordinates = origin;

                // Update the source layer
                map.getSource('point').setData(point);

                // Reset the counter
                counter = 0;

                // Restart the animation.
                animate(counter);
            });

        // Start the animation.
        animate(counter);
    });
</script>
</body>
</html>