Which search pattern has track spacing equal to its sweep width?

Which search pattern has track spacing equal to its sweep width?

• A. Expanding square search
• B. Grid search
• C. Circular search
• D. Linear search

Answer: (A)

Track spacing is how far apart adjacent search passes are, while sweep width is the width of area a single pass can effectively cover. To guarantee complete coverage without gaps, the spacing between passes should match the sweep width. The expanding square search achieves this by building a square-spiral path where each new leg sits one sweep width away from the previous one, keeping track spacing equal to the sweep width throughout the pattern. This careful alignment ensures contiguous coverage with no gaps or unnecessary overlap. Other patterns don’t inherently enforce that one-to-one spacing: a grid search uses parallel sweeps whose spacing is chosen for overlap or gaps as needed, a circular search uses concentric rings with a radial increment that isn’t fixed to the sweep width in the same way, and a linear search covers a strip without the same consistent per-pass spacing relationship.

Track spacing is how far apart adjacent search passes are, while sweep width is the width of area a single pass can effectively cover. To guarantee complete coverage without gaps, the spacing between passes should match the sweep width. The expanding square search achieves this by building a square-spiral path where each new leg sits one sweep width away from the previous one, keeping track spacing equal to the sweep width throughout the pattern. This careful alignment ensures contiguous coverage with no gaps or unnecessary overlap. Other patterns don’t inherently enforce that one-to-one spacing: a grid search uses parallel sweeps whose spacing is chosen for overlap or gaps as needed, a circular search uses concentric rings with a radial increment that isn’t fixed to the sweep width in the same way, and a linear search covers a strip without the same consistent per-pass spacing relationship.