NCJ Number
17620
Date Published
1974
Length
21 pages
Annotation
THIS MONOGRAPH PRESENTS A THEORETICAL DISCUSSION OF SEARCH THEORY THAT HAS BEEN MODIFIED TO INCLUDE A RANDOM NUMBER OF EVENTS OF RANDOM, BUT LIMITED, DURATION.
Abstract
AN OBSERVER WISHES TO DETECT AS MANY AS POSSIBLE OF A SET OF EVENTS. THE EVENTS ARISE AT SEVERAL DISCRETE POINTS ACCORDING TO INDEPENDENT POISSON PROCESSES, AND THE LIFETIMES OF INDIVIDUAL OCCURRENCES ARE INDEPENDENT AND IDENTICALLY DISTRIBUTED RANDOM VARIABLES. THE SPECIFIC PROBLEM IS: GIVEN THAT THE OBSERVER CAN ONLY 'VISIT' ONE POINT PER UNIT TIME, IN WHAT SEQUENCE SHOULD HE MAKE HIS 'VISITS' SO AS TO MAXIMIZE THE STEADY-STATE FRACTION OF EVENTS HE DETECTS? SOME RESULTS ABOUT THE OPTIMAL SEARCH POLICY ARE OBTAINED, AND THE BEST POLICY IS FOUND PRECISELY IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)