Small universal covers for sets of unit diameter (Q1189647)

A subset of the Euclidean plane is called a universal cover, if it can be rotated or translated to cover any planar set of unit diameter. In 1914, Lebesgue asked for universal covers of minimum area. (The question regarding their uniqueness is still open.) An interesting discussion on universal covers is given by \textit{H. T. Croft}, \textit{K. J. Falconer}, and \textit{R. K. Guy} (section D 15 in their book ``Unsolved Problems in Geometry'', Springer, New York Inc. (1991)), showing also the strong connection to the famous partition conjecture of Borsuk. In the present paper, the set of convex universal covers is extended by an asymmetrical candidate and, in addition, by a universal cover of sets with an axis of symmetry. Both covers are better than known ones. The author gives hints with respect to computer simulations in the solution of problems of such a type, too.