Partial leading in pursuit and evasion games

Pursuit and evasion games encompass a large class of games in which one or more “pursuers” attempt to find and/or capture one or more “evaders”. These games have immense practical importance, yet their mathematics is not fully-understood outside of a limited number of simple cases. This paper introduces PursuitSim, a simulation platform for pursuit and evasion games in which the user interactively explores these games by dynamically adjusting algorithm parameters. The dynamic and exploratory nature of the platform allows the user to quickly ascertain broad patterns and test hypotheses. We discuss insights gained using the platform on the efficacy of “leading” strategies in situations where the pursuer can make reasonable assumptions about the path of the evader.