SHORTEST PATHS FOR LINE SEGMENTS

We study the problem of shortest paths for a line segment in the plane. As a measure of the distance traversed by a path, we take the average curve length of the orbits of prescribed points on the line segment. This problem is nontrivial even in free space (i.e., in the absence of obstacles). We characterize all shortest paths of the line segment moving in free space under the measure d2, the average orbit length of the two endpoints. The problem of d2 optimal motion has been solved by Gurevich and also by Dubovitskij, who calls it Ulam's problem. Unlike previous solutions, our basic tool is Cauchy's surface-area formula. This new approach is relatively elementary, and yields new insights.