BESPOKE TALK Series: Investigate the strange and wonderful world of Swarms and Boids!

The self-organizing behaviors of swarms are amazing to behold. Swarms of bees, ants, and termites can exhibit a high degree of coordination and organization, even though they have no centralized leadership.

How do they do it?

It turns out that swarms are excellent examples of complex adaptive systems. In a complex adaptive system, individual agents (in this case, bees, ants, or termites) interact with each other and their environment in ways that produce emergent behaviors at the group level. That is, the behavior of the swarm emerges from the interactions of the individual agents.

The Self-Organizing Behaviors of Swarms and boids

The study of Swarms and Boids is a relatively new field of research that is still being developed. However, despite the lack of a long history, the behavioral analysis of swarms and Boids has already yielded some interesting results.

One of the most surprising things about swarms is their capacity for self-organization. Swarms are able to develop complex behaviors without any centralized control or leader. This is made possible by the simple rules that govern the behavior of individual members of the swarm.

SWARMS

Swarming behavior is an emergent behavior that arises from simple rules that are followed by individuals. It does not involve any central coordination.

Swarming behavior arises from simple rules because it is a bottom-up process. That is, it is initiated and coordinated by the individuals themselves, rather than by a central authority. This makes swarm behavior very robust, since it can continue even if parts of the system fail.

One of the key features of swarm behavior is that it is self-organized. That is, the individuals in the system collectively organize themselves into a cohesive whole without any central authority dictating what they should do.

BOIDS

A virtual simulation of group behavior in fish schools or flying flocks of birds was based on the type of three-dimensional computational geometry typically employed in computer animation and computer-aided design. I referred to the generic flocking simulation critters as "boids." The way a bird moves in response to the locations and speeds of other birds in its flock is described by three simple steering behaviors. Together, they form the basis of the flocking paradigm.

The study of Boid behavior is still in its early stages, but it has already yielded some fascinating insights into animal communication and cooperation. This research has the potential to shed even more light on the fascinating question of how animals are able to interact with one another.

SWARMS VS BOIDS

So, what is the difference between swarms and boids? Swarms are characterized by a high degree of coordination and communication, while boids tend to be more individualistic. This difference can be seen in the way that swarms and boids move and behave. Swarms typically move in a more unified fashion, while boids tend to move in a more random fashion.

PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is a heuristic search algorithm that is based on the collective behavior of a group of particles. The algorithm was proposed by Kennedy and Eberhart in 1995 and has been shown to be very effective in a number of optimization problems.

PSO is a population-based algorithm, meaning that it maintains a population of potential solutions (called particles) throughout the search process. Each particle represents a candidate solution to the optimization problem. The position of each particle in the search space is updated at each iteration based on the particle's current position, velocity, and a set of personal and global best positions.

RULES FOR PARTICLE SWARMING

There are three primary behaviors that dictate how a flock of birds' flies: velocity matching, collision avoidance, and flock centering. Each of these behaviors is necessary for the flock to function as a unit and avoid running into objects or each other.

Velocity matching occurs when all the birds in a flock fly at the same pace. This keeps the flock coordinated and decreases the possibility of an accident.

Collision avoidance means that the birds are all trying to retain their own space from one another. Because of this, the birds in the flock can avoid colliding with one another or with obstacles.

Flock centering refers to a behavior in which birds attempt to maintain a position in the middle of the flock. This aids in keeping the flock together and preventing individuals from dispersing.

Each of these behaviors is essential for the flock to function properly. Without velocity matching, the flock would not be able to move as a unit and would be more likely to collide with objects. Without collision avoidance, the flock would be more likely to run into each other or fly into objects. Without flock centering, the flock would be more likely to fly off in different directions and would not be able to stay together.

These three behaviors work together to ensure that the flock can avoid collisions, stay together, and function as a unit. They are essential for the flock to be able to fly safely and effectively.

---

Ar. Joey Angelo Mangcupang

Ar. Angela Joy Tagaro

Lead Architects

John Michael Jalandra

Content Writer

---

BERSABARC Design Studio 2022