Is There an Optimal Search Strategy

Bayesian analysis changes probability estimates as information is acquired. If you are searching for something and after some time you do not find it, that information can be used to estimate if the object of the search is present or not. Assume a searcher has finite resources and finite time to carry out a search and the searcher can search different areas and can use a variety of search methods. The unsolved question is when is it optimal to give up searching an area with a single method and switch methods or switch areas of search. Examples could be as simple as looking for a piece of paper between two cluttered desks, an animal foraging for food, or looking for a lost person, ship, or aircraft. Noise will cause fluctuations in the model parameters.