Modeling the search for a randomly moving target by a patrolling searcher.

Abstract

This thesis develops a model, called Area Motion Search (AMS), that determines the detection probability for a patrolling sensor searching for a randomly moving target in a fixed area. The AMS model reduces to exhaustive search when the target is stationary and to random search when the searcher is stationary. Thus, AMS is a bridge between these two often used models in search theory, and provides a unified treatment of both.