English

Revisit escape path for infinite unit strip forest and unit broadworm

Optimization and Control 2026-07-20 v1

Abstract

Building on our previous general computational solution to Bellman's Lost-in-a-Forest Problem, we present a new approach and analytical formulas for the previously well-known escape path for the infinite unit-strip forest and unit broadworm by Zalgaller. Earlier studies addressed these problems exclusively through geometric methods. We reformulated the problem as an interval-cover problem and then formulated it as a constrained functional minimization problem. This constrained functional minimization can be directly discretized and subsequently solved as a convex optimization. Furthermore, we extend the analysis of various line segment. Finally, we show that, in the case of a closed escape path for the unit strip, the optimal solution is a curve of constant unit width.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2607.18563,
  title  = {Revisit escape path for infinite unit strip forest and unit broadworm},
  author = {Zhipeng Deng},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.18563},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

12 pages, 5 figures