Hi Mamfred,
Oh my yes. There is a huge body of literature on this, particularly in fish, swallows, ants and bats. These animals do not in fact collide, and have a series of behavioral rules by which they adjust the spacing between themselves. It is these simple rules that produce emergent behavior of swarms. This is a good set of terms to access some of this literature. Also, Ian Couzins has done some particularly key work on fish and ants, and has some recent reviews that provide conceptual overviews and pointers to literature. Andy Grunnbaum also has done some nice work on fish (although it might not be at the individual behavioral level0.
Cheers
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Sent: Friday, June 24, 2016 7:04 PM
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Subject: BIOMIMETICS Digest - 22 Jun 2016 to 24 Jun 2016 (#2016-27)
There are 2 messages totaling 92 lines in this issue.
Topics of the day:
1. Swarm intelligence? (2)
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Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2016 16:55:57 +0200
From: Manfred Drack <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Swarm intelligence?
Dear All!
While looking at grasshoppers in a lab I saw that they jump right against walls with quite some force involved; apparently without any injury.
Every now and then one hears that animal swarms or flocks are "smart"
and that they do not collide with each other. Therefore they seem to be a good biomimetic role model for traffic issues.
Now my question is: Is there any evidence that such animals (insects, fish, birds) really do not collide? Or is it rather not important for them when they touch each other every now and then?
Kind regards,
Manfred Drack
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Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2016 15:59:27 +0100
From: Chris Holland <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Swarm intelligence?
Shistocerca gregaria requires jostling in order to lay the gregarious (swarm forming) offspring. It's the work of steve Simpson from Oxford (now in australia).
Cheers Chris
On 24 Jun 2016 15:56, "Manfred Drack" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear All!
>
> While looking at grasshoppers in a lab I saw that they jump right
> against walls with quite some force involved; apparently without any injury.
>
> Every now and then one hears that animal swarms or flocks are "smart"
> and that they do not collide with each other. Therefore they seem to
> be a good biomimetic role model for traffic issues.
>
> Now my question is: Is there any evidence that such animals (insects,
> fish, birds) really do not collide? Or is it rather not important for
> them when they touch each other every now and then?
>
> Kind regards,
> Manfred Drack
>
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End of BIOMIMETICS Digest - 22 Jun 2016 to 24 Jun 2016 (#2016-27)
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