The obscure subject of game theory has become better known, now that Prof. Robert (Yisrael) Aumann of The Hebrew University has shared a Nobel Prize in Economics on the basis of his work in this field. Obviously, game theory is not a hobby for children. Now Technion researcher (and former Moledet MK) Prof. Shaul Gutman says he has discovered a mathematical approach to hitting maneuverable targets and succeeded in implementing game theory for directing guided missiles to their targets.
Gutman's new book on the subject - published by the American Society for Astronautics and Aeronautics and the result of 25 years of work - was written "from the missile's viewpoint," says its author. Although the book takes the standpoint of the pursuer, Gutman explains, the approach is equally applicable to the target.
"It is the first book dealing with guidance laws for homing missiles, as an outcome of a 'conflict' between a missile and a target. In such a game, the missile tends to minimize the miss-distance using proper pursuit maneuvers, while the target tends to maximize it using evasive maneuvers." Gutman adds that in the past, it was difficult to account for the fact that missiles have a limited ability to maneuver. As a result, the standard guidance law was unable to guarantee a direct hit.
"Using the property known as the saddle-point in game theory, we are able to design a guidance law or algorithm - stored in the missile computer - that guarantees a narrower miss, and eventually hit-to-kill, regardless of the target's maneuvers. Moreover, this game approach helps to better design the airframe and autopilot to achieve this goal," he says.
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