Search Theory

1Search Theory

HENRY R. RICHARDSON / Center for Naval Analyses, Alexandria, Virginia

DOI: 10.1201/9781003420057-1

1. INTRODUCTION

Search theory^* came into being during World War II with the work of B. 0. Koopman and his colleagues in the Antisubmarine Warfare Operations Research Group (ASWORG). ASWORG was directed by P. M. Morse and reported to Admiral Ernest King, Chief of Naval Operations and Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet. Inspired by Morse, many of the fundamental concepts of search theory, such as sweep width and sweep rate, had been established by the spring of 1942. Since that time, search theory has grown to be a major discipline within the field of operations research. Its applications range from deep-ocean search for submerged ...