2000 HiMCM Problem A
Bank Robbers
Problem:
The First National Bank has just been robbed (the position of the bank on the map is marked). The clerk pressed the silent alarm to the police station. The police immediately sent out police cars to establish road blocks at the major street junctions leading out of town. Additionally, 2 police cars were dispatched to the bank.
Map information: (see the series of two maps below)
The Bank is located at the corner of 8th Ave. and Colorado Blvd. and is marked with the letter B. The main exits where the two road blocks are set up are at the intersection of Interstate 70 and Colorado Blvd, and Interstate 70 (past Riverside Drive). These are marked with a RB1 and RB2 symbol.
-
Assume the robbers left the bank just before the police cars arrived. Develop an efficient algorithm for the police cars to sweep the area in order to force the bank robbers (who were fleeing by car) into one of the established road blocks.
-
Assume that no cars break down during the chase or run out of gas.
-
Further assume that the robbers do not decide to flee via other transportation means.
