On topological complexity of non-orientable surfaces (Q1676521)

The topological complexity \(\text{TC}(X)\) of a space \(X\) is a numerical homotopy invariant introduced by \textit{M. Farber} in [Discrete Comput. Geom. 29, No. 2, 211--221 (2003; Zbl 1038.68130)] in order to study the motion planning problem in robotics from a topological perspective. Farber computed, by using cohomological estimates, the topological complexity of several interesting spaces including the orientable surfaces. However the used techniques were not applicable to non-orientable surfaces and this case has been left as an open problem. In [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 144, No. 11, 4999--5014 (2016; Zbl 1352.55002)], the present author made a big step towards the solution of this problem by proving that the topological complexity of \(N_g\), the non-orientable surface of genus \(g\), is 4 when \(g\geq 5.\) In the paper under review the author proves that \(\text{TC}(N_4)=4\) and presents an alternative proof for the equality \(\text{TC}(N_g)=4\) for \(g\geq 5.\) Finally, he also gives an explanation why his techniques do not work for \(N_2\) and \(N_3.\)