Thursday, March 28, 2019

newtonian mechanics - How long does it take to optimally change position and velocity?


A spaceship moving in two dimensions is at position $(x, y)$ and has a velocity $(v_x, v_y)$. It also has a maximum acceleration $a_{max}$. Its goal is to be at position $(x', y')$ with a velocity of $(v'_x, y'_x)$. What path takes the smallest amount of time?


I see that the problem can be reduced to a spaceship at $(0, 0)$ with a velocity of $(0, 0)$, trying to intercept a object currently at $(x'-x, y'-y)$ with a velocity of $(v'_x - v_x, y'_x - y_x)$.


I have a hunch that the optimal path will always be constant acceleration in one direction, possibly with a reversal somewhere along the way.


I'm curious because I believe the total time will be a consistent and admissable heuristic for a Newtonian pathing algorithm that takes velocity into account.


Clarification



There are no additional constraints. The problem is to minimize time, not to conserve $\Delta v$.




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