A simple game with a singular focal line

We propose a simple game whose solution contains a singular focal line, i.e., a focal line reached by optimal trajectories in a nontangential fashion. We also provide a discussion of how the optimal discriminating strategy can be approximated by a pure feedback.This work was prepared while the first author was visiting at INRIA-Sophia Antipolis, Valbonne, France.     

A differential game with two pursuers and one evader

This paper is concerned with a coplanar pursuit-evasion problem in which a faster evaderE with constant speedw>1 must pass between two pursuersP ₁,P ₂ having unit speed, the payoff being the distance of closest approach to either one of the pursuers. The control variables are the directions of the velocities ofP ₁,P ₂, andE. The path equations are integrated, and a closed-form solution is obtained in terms of elliptic functions of the first and second kind. A closed-loop solution is given graphically in several diagrams, for different values ofw.     

Minimum-fuel rocket trajectories involving intermediate-thrust arcs

The optimal trajectories in the neighborhood of an optimal intermediate-thrust arc are investigated for the minimumfuel orbit rendezvous problem with fixed specific impulse. Since such an arc is singular, the thrust acceleration magnitude being the singular control component, a second-variation analysis leads to the identification of a field of neighboring, singular arcs in a state space of dimension four rather than six, provided that a suitable Jacobi condition is met. A given neighboring initial six-dimensional state vector does not generally lie on a neighboring singular arc, and junction onto the appropriate singular arc must be accomplished by a short period of strong variations in the acceleration. This contributes an addition to the fuel expenditure which is of order 5/2 rather than 2 in the initial state displacement. The minimization of this higher-order cost, in the case of bounded acceleration, leads to an unsymmetrical version of Fuller's problem, whose solution requires an infinite number of switches between maximum and zero thrust during the short period. For unbounded thrust, the junction simplifies to either coast-impulse-singular trajectories or impulse-coast-impulse-singular trajectories. The neighboring singular arc meets the final condition in 4 dimensions, rather than 6 dimensions, and rendezvous must be completed by another, terminal short period of strong variations in the acceleration. Implications for midcourse guidance near a singular arc are discussed.     

The surveillance-evasion game of degree

Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications - The game of degree is analyzed in a surveillance-evasion problem: the evader strives to escape as soon as possible from the pursuer's detection...     

Role determination in an aerial dogfight

A coplanar aerial dogfight is analyzed by assuming constant, not necessarily identical, speeds and individual maximum turning rates and lethal ranges. A combatant (A) is assumed to be victorious when his opponent (B) has been maneuvered into a relative position within A's lethal range and in the direction of A's velocity. Three variables are required to define the instantaneous “state” of the game, namely the relative position (2) and the angle (1) between their velocities. A computer program has been constructed to divide the 3-dimensional region of possible initial (and subsequent) states into regions corresponding to victory by one or the other combatant, and, if the faster combatant has the smaller lethal range, a “no contest” region corresponding to escape by the faster combatant. The critical separating surface (or surfaces) is composed of a number of pieces corresponding to initial conditions leading either to simultaneous kill or to “near miss” situations of one type or another. Optimal play is defined in the immediate neighborhood of the entire separating surface, guaranteeing victory (or escape) to one combatant or the other, depending on location on one side or the other of the separating surface.     

Estimation and control with cubic nonlinearities

The nonlinearities in a dynamic system and its measurement equations are assumed to be cubic and small, i.e., all proportional to a single scalar small parameter . The optimal digital nonlinear feedback control law is carried through the first power of , taking into account the non-Gaussian character of the state conditional distribution. The optimal law involves cubic and linear terms in the state estimate, as well as higher moments of the state conditional distribution.     

Uniformly valid feedback expansions for optimal control of singularly perturbed dynamic systems

This paper shows how to construct a feedback control law for a class of singularly perturbed autonomous optimization problems. The control law is expressed as a single power series in the small parameter representing the ratio of the two effective time scales of the problem. The present approach avoids the need of expansion matching. The method is applied to a constant-speed interception problem. Comparison of numerical results with the exact solution shows an excellent agreement.Dedicated to G. Leitmann     

Point capture of two evaders in succession

A constant-speed coplanar model with unlimited turn-rates leads to a rather simple geometrical solution of the problem of point capture of two successive evaders in minimum total time: the pursuer concentrates first on the nearer evader who runs in an appropriate direction; the second evader runs directly away from the predictable point of capture of the first evader. This simple solution is valid only if the second evader remains thereby the further of the two evaders. Otherwise, the solution must be modified to include a phase involving curved motion by all three players, during which the pursuer remains equidistant from both evaders.     

Optimal economic growth with foreign trade and a learning industry

Ryder (Ref. 1) has developed a simple two-sector macroeconomic model incorporatinglearning by doing as a determinant of the growth of productivity-enhancing experience and its effect on foreign trade. In this paper, optimal foreign trade and capital allocation policies are determined, in the context of the above model, for ranges of the international trade price not considered by Ryder. An extension of Ryder's model to include a dual trade price structure is briefly discussed. A specific numerical example is used to ascertain the configuration of the various features occurring in the extremal fields at different price levels.