HiMCM 2017 · Problem set
Two design-and-operations problems that reward clean geometry and careful constraint bookkeeping. Problem A drops you into a Disney/Intel-style drone light show and asks how to choreograph hundreds of drones safely; Problem B is a classic logistics-meets-physics question about laying out a ski resort to maximize throughput without sacrificing safety.
| Contest dates | November 9 – November 13, 2017 (5-day window) [illustrative] |
| Participation | ~750 teams, primarily United States and China [illustrative] |
| Problem A | Drone Clusters as Sky Light Displays — swarm choreography and safety |
| Problem B | Ski Slope — terrain design, lift sizing, and skier throughput |
| Official results | 2017 HiMCM problems & commentary |
Both 2017 prompts are indexed on COMAP's
previous problems page.
Read the PDF before our outline — the outline is most useful as a second pass.
The two problems
Problem A
Drone Clusters as Sky Light Displays
Replace a Fourth-of-July fireworks show with a coordinated swarm of illuminated drones. Estimate fleet size for several shape targets, plan collision-free flight paths, and address safety, cost, and resilience.
Open outline →
Problem B
Ski Slope
Design a ski resort on a real piece of terrain: lay out runs and lifts, choose lift capacities, model skier flow, and balance throughput against on-slope density and safety.
Open outline →
Why this year is good practice
- Both are geometric. A rewards 3D point-set assignment and collision-free path planning; B rewards 2D terrain layout on real DEM data. If you have never written a problem in $(x, y, z)$ before, 2017 is the year to start.
- Optimization shows up in two flavors. A is essentially the assignment problem (Hungarian / linear assignment) plus deconfliction; B is a queueing + flow problem on a graph of lifts and runs.
- Strong stakeholder framing. A asks for a proposal to a city or theme-park client; B asks for a design memo to a resort developer. Classic HiMCM letter practice.