This is covered very well (a long with many other neat algorithms) in The Computational Beauty of Nature[1], one of those books I keep coming back to
Neat Algorithms - Flocking
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Re: Neat Algorithms - Flocking
#12You should definitely check out Daniel Shiffmans "Nature of Code" book that is coming out soon. It's full of stuff like this.
Furthermore: http://www.shiffman.net/teaching/nature/
(hey Rune!)
Re: Neat Algorithms - Flocking
#13The visual demonstration is rather hypnotizing to watch. This algorithm is an example how seemingly intelligent behaviour roots in just a handful of simple rules. In this way it kind of reminds me of Conway's Game of Life: A few simple rules stimulating stunningly complex behaviour.
Re: Neat Algorithms - Flocking
#14This is covered very well (a long with many other neat algorithms) in The Computational Beauty of Nature[1], one of those books I keep coming back to [1] http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/FLAOH/cbnhtml/
A fantastic and seemingly little known book.
Not necessarily for anyone who's not comfortable with the math, but a very rewarding a mind opening read.
Re: Neat Algorithms - Flocking
#15This is covered very well (a long with many other neat algorithms) in The Computational Beauty of Nature[1], one of those books I keep coming back to [1] http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/FLAOH/cbnhtml/
This is a really great book! And a real mind opener.
Even if you know about some areas already.
Re: Neat Algorithms - Flocking
#16You should definitely check out Daniel Shiffmans "Nature of Code" book that is coming out soon. It's full of stuff like this.
Original author here: I backed the book and have been eagerly following along. Really cool stuff.
Re: Neat Algorithms - Flocking
#17Bat swarms and game AI aside, what are the real world applications of something like this? It strikes me as significantly less useful than say a neural net.
Re: Neat Algorithms - Flocking
#18The original paper[0], published in '86, in addition to being a huge step forward over contemporary graphics techniques, is extremely comprehensible and an excellent read. It also goes into some detail about collision avoidance, which is hard to see in the browser demo (boids will avoid the mouse but not in a very large area), and goal seeking, which isn't in it. It ends with a fairly eyebrow-raising testament to the…
I have a vague recollection of reading about this in a magazine when I was in 7th or 8th grade. I also recall being very disappointed in the results of my coding based on the article. I had recalled through the years my attempts at drawing some flocking pixels, but had forgotten the source of my 'inspiration' and never really regained my curiosity.
I think I had decided that I just didn't understand the material. Now I think that the article wasn't a technical paper and I didn't know any better at the time. Your link to the original paper (!) is most certainly welcome. I've finally decided to get back to some graphics programming and this would be a fun exercise.
Re: Neat Algorithms - Flocking
#19I once programmed a swarm simulation as a project for a course I attended. You can set various parameters of the swarm and introduce a predator which can try to eat inidividuals of the swarm. You then can set a bunch of escape strategies. This was pretty much fun when I wrote it. Just uploaded it to my bitbucket repository in case anyone is interested. https://bitbucket.org/mlux/swarm-simulation
My app with a very similar goal (predators & prey), but C++ with OpenGL :)
https://github.com/piskvorky/PredatorPrey
I remember decoupling the simulation speed from graphics rendering speed (aka frame rate) and AI thinking speed was a lot of fun!
Re: Neat Algorithms - Flocking
#20This is covered very well (a long with many other neat algorithms) in The Computational Beauty of Nature[1], one of those books I keep coming back to [1] http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/FLAOH/cbnhtml/
The book Clever Algorithms (free to download) is also covering some swarm algorithms: http://www.cleveralgorithms.com/nature-inspired/swarm.html