Why Are Voronoi Diagrams so Fruitful in Application?

The Voronoi diagram has many possible applications in a variety of areas, including industry and the social sciences. In this paper, we survey some typical applications and consider why this concept is so fruitful. It is the viewpoint of the author that most existing applications arise from the three basic kinds of information the Voronoi diagram provides, namely, the shapes of the dominant regions, the neighbor relations, and the structures of empty space.