The minimax path in a search for a circle in a plane

The problem has been considered by Isbell of determining the path that minimizes the maximum distance along the path to a line in the same plane whose distance from the starting point of the search is known, while its direction is unknown. We consider in this article the analogous problem for the search for a circle of known radius, of known distance from a starting point in its plane. It is further shown that Isbell's solution is a limiting case of the problem posed as the radius of the circle tends to infinity. The problem appears to be of some practical significance, since it is equivalent to that of searching for an object a given distance away which will be spotted when we get sufficiently close—that is, within a specific radius.