Optimal spiral search plan for a randomly located target in the plane

摘要

This paper addresses the problem of searching for a located target in the plane by using a unit-speed searcher starting at (0,0). The plane is divided into cells. The searcher moves along spiral with line segment curve. It is desired to search in an optimal manner to minimise the expected time for detecting the target. An illustrative example has been given to demonstrate the applicability of this technique.