An interesting puzzle where 4 people must cross a bridge in 17 minutes. Bridgecrossing puzzle, the bridge puzzle, the four men puzzle, the flashlight puzzle. The classic bridge riddle involves four people who need to cross a bridge as quickly as possible under certain specific conditions. The torch problem also known as the bridge problem or the flashlight problem is about getting a number of people across a bridge as quickly as possible under certain constraints. It is one of the category of river crossing puzzles, where a number of objects must move across a river, with some constraints. It is one of the category of river crossing puzzles, where a. As in, you put one foot on the bridge and either it holds or doesnt, so you wont know which bridges are safe until you start. Now ive managed to solve the problem using a graph, but i dont see how i can solve this type of problem using dynamic programming. Five people need to walk from this side to the other side of a bridge at night.
Program for bridge and torch problem given an array of positive distinct integer denoting the crossing time of n people. The classic bridge riddle involves four people who need to cross a bridge as quickly as possible. The catch is that at most two people can cross at once, otherwise the bridge will crush under their weight, and the group only has access to one torch. The torch problem is a generalisation of a problem involving four people wishing to cross a bridge. At most m people may cross at any time, and each group must have a flashlight.
It is up to you to derive an algorithm from this information to solve the problem in the fewest bytes of code possible. The inspiration for this code golf puzzle is the bridge and torch problem, in which d people at the start of a bridge must all cross it in the least amount of time. They have a torch which has battery left for only 17 minutes. It is a dark night and there is only one torch between them. Pulling that lever with the skull symbol just to see what it did probably wasnt so smart either. Bridge crossing puzzles optimal strategy codeproject. Torsten sillke 1 has explored the history of the problem and collected his. Ethernetlike networks ethernet, ethernet over ip, ieee 802. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple faq for additional information. The bridge and torch problem also known as the midnight train and dangerous crossing is a logic puzzle that deals with four people, a bridge and a torch. Hence the algorithm only needs to determine the parameter x. The people passing the bridge must carry the flashlight. There is only one torch with them and the bridge cannot be crossed without the torch. An investigation involving adding and subtracting sets of consecutive numbers.
He addresses both this specific problem, as well as a general solution with any number of landmasses and any number of bridges. May 01, 2015 the torch problem also known as the bridge problem or the flashlight problem is about getting a number of people across a bridge as quickly as possible under certain constraints. Moshe sniedovich has used the problem in order to illustrate the dynamic program. When two people cross the bridge together, they must move at the slower persons pace. You can find more information about this from wikipedia view all of. Pdf we solve the general case of the bridgecrossing puzzle. Problem solving cont now that we know what algorithms are, we are going to try some problem solving and write algorithms for the problems. Then take the largest pair of numbers across the bridge and return with the smallest number of all those already accross the bridge. Dynamic curvature is defined as second derivative of the dynamic displacement for detecting damage location and. Abstract the torch problem also known as the bridge problem or the flashlight problem is about getting a number of people across a bridge as quickly as possible under certain constraints. The letters of the word abacus have been arranged in the shape of a triangle. Taking that internship in a remote mountain lab might not have been the best idea. Construct an algorithm that will get all n people across in the shortest time. So far i recall, however, the problem was to find out the minimum time that all reach their camp.
Crossing the bridge in 17 min, puzzle there is a bridge that will collapse in 17 minutes. The question is, can they all get across the bridge in 15 minutes or less. Bridge crossing puzzle, the bridge puzzle, the four men puzzle, the flashlight puzzle, or the bridge and torch problem. When two people cross the bridge they move at the slowest persons pace. When moving people from first side to second side preference should be given to the n slowest walkers. Puzzle 18 torch and bridge there are 4 persons a, b, c and d who want to cross a bridge in night. The flashlight cannot be thrown over the bridge so it must be carried back to the other end of the bridge.
Here is a bruteforce algorithm that tries all unique combinations and works out the answer for any number of dudes andor dudettes crossing whatever bridgeriverthe rubicon, with any token torch or boat or a copy of a dark sith lords dna. Person a can cross the bridge in one minute, b in two minutes, c in five minutes, and d in eight minutes. The torch problem also known as the bridge problem or the. Given a number n, the task is to find the number of ways n. Solving bridge and torch puzzle with dynamic programming. On august 26, 1735, euler presents a paper containing the solution to the konigsberg bridge problem. Always use fastest walker to take torch from second side to first side. At most 2 persons can walk on the bridge at the same time and need to carry the torch with them. Bridgecrossing puzzle, the bridge puzzle, the four men puzzle, the flashlight puzzle, or the bridge and torch problem. Only one or two persons can cross at a time because it is dark, and the flashlight must be taken on every crossing. When two people are crossing, they both move at the slower persons rate so person a crossing with person d would take 10 minutes.
Now that we can move across the bridge, its time to finally set up the problem so that it can be solved. A couple months ago i came across the bridge and torch problem at a careers fair in oxford. Prove that the algorithm does indeed find the shortest time. Person a needs 1 minute to cross the bridge, b needs 2 minutes, c needs 5 minutes and d needs 10 minutes. The person, says a, b, c and d walk with different pace as follows. Well start with stepbystep instructions that solve a particular problem and then write a generic algorithm that will solve any problem of that type. Leonard eulers solution to the konigsberg bridge problem.
A search algorithm has been used for solving this problem. Place the 16 different combinations of cupsaucer in this 4 by 4 arrangement so that no row or column contains more than one cup or saucer of the same colour. I have just modified one external link on bridge and torch problem. A group of n people wish to cross a bridge at night. The capacityc torch problem proceedings of the 9th.
There is an entire pdf alternate link that solves the general case of this problem in a formal proof. Which could mean you might need to double back, upon which the bridge you previously crossed might now collapse. But avoid asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. The inspiration for this code golf puzzle is the bridge and torch problem, in which d people at the start of a bridge must all cross it in the least amount of time the catch is that at most two people can cross at once, otherwise the bridge will crush under their weight, and the group only has access to one torch, which must be carried to cross the bridge. Simple program to solve the bridge and torch problem using python 3. The torch problem is a generalisation of a problem involving four people wishing to cross a bridge of capacity two and with specific concrete times. A damage detection algorithm utilizing dynamic displacement. Im trying to solve a bridge and torch like problem with dynamic programming. What is the solution to cross the bridge within 17 minutes. The bridge feature allows the interconnection of hosts connected to separate lans using eoip, geographically distributed networks can be bridged as well if any kind of ip network interconnection. Torsten sillke1 has explored the history of the problem and collected his ndings and references on his web page 7.
The bridge and torch problem from an orms perspective, this famous puzzle can be regarded with a bit of imagination as a vehicle routing problem. They have one torch and, because its night, the torch has to be used when crossing the bridge. The bridge and torch problem is a logic puzzle that deals with four people, a bridge and a torch. The bridge is not in a very good condition and will hold at most 3 people at a time. The problem is first elaborated with closedform solution of dynamic displacement, which is decomposed into quasistatic component and dynamic component. A systematic solution to the bridge and torch riddle.
Crossing the bridge puzzle bridge and torch problem. Polynomial time and space algorithm for solving wellknown torch flashlight. The question is a version of the bridge and torch problem. The bridge and torch problem maple programming help maplesoft.
A damage detection method is proposed, which utilizes dynamic displacement of bridge structures under moving vehicle. Ways to write n as sum of two or more positive integers set2. The bridge and torch problem main concept a group of four friends is stranded on an island which is connected to the mainland by a single bridge. There are n persons that all have to cross a bridge, using a single torch. Sep 01, 2015 taking that internship in a remote mountain lab might not have been the best idea.
There are 4 persons a, b, c and d who want to cross a bridge in night. The approach is more precise than simple guessing and more intuitive than purely formal solutions e. Topics problem solving examples pseudocode control. Given an array of positive distinct integer denoting the crossing time of n people. The bridge is long and dark so you cannot pass the torch by throwing or roll it in the ground. Bridge and torch problem for n people with go closed problem. Four people need to cross a bridge at night which only supports two people at the same time. Topics problem solving examples pseudocode control structures. A young tech company called qubit used it as a brain teaser challenge for would be software engineers to solve before submitting. Program for bridge and torch problem geeksforgeeks. Only one flashlight is available among the n people, so some sort of shuttle arrangement must be arranged in order to return the flashlight so that more people may cross. This is a popular question asked and answered about 45 years back. This paper, called solutio problematis ad geometriam situs pertinentis, was later published in 1741 hopkins, 2. Derive an algorithm that will construct a sequence of crossings to get all n people across in the shortest time.
When two people are crossing, they both move at the slower persons rate so person a crossing with person d. Although a very simply stated problem, the solution is surprisingly nontrivial. The bridge and torch problem code golf stack exchange. The oldest reference is apparently a puzzle book by levmore and cook from 1981 6. The torch problem is an abstraction from a problem involving four people wishing to cross a bridge of capacity two and with speci. The bridge is not in a very good condition and will hold at. When two people cross the bridge, they must move at the slower persons pace. Crossing the bridge in 17 min, puzzle ritambhara technologies. Nov 10, 2011 a couple months ago i came across the bridge and torch problem at a careers fair in oxford.