Rheology of ants: structural properties of cooperative networks

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。合作行为是动物之间的共同特征，从细菌膜到鸟群，再到鲸群。对个体之间这种协作的观察启发了计算机科学家和机器人专家，他们试图构建群体启发的设备。理论研究表明，具有简单行为和交流规则的个体可以表现出复杂的群体行为。然而，仍然需要进行实验，以清楚地显示个人之间正在交换的信息的性质。蚂蚁在合作动物中是独特的，它们通过连接在一起形成梯子、链条、墙壁和木筏等自组装物来克服物理障碍。这是一种简化的群体行为，其中群体成员通过与最近的邻居进行身体接触来互动。这样的模型系统使我们能够在很大程度上可视化群体内部的动态和交流。该系统将通过采用称为流变仪的高精度测量设备来研究，该设备通常用于研究无生命材料，以检查小规模的蜂群行为。蚂蚁用来交流的物理线索将被确定，群体机器人的一般原理将被开发出来。研究生将参与该项目，本科生，包括那些在科学和工程领域代表性不足的群体，将被招募参与研究。此外，还将在附近的一所高中开展以生物设计为主题的课外活动。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Cooperative behavior is a common trait among animals, from films of bacteria, to flocks of birds, to schools of whales. Observations of such coordination between individuals have inspired computer scientists and roboticists to try to build swarm-inspired devices. Theoretical work has shown that individuals with simple behavioral and communication rules can exhibit complex swarming behavior. Nevertheless, there remains a need for experiments that clearly show the nature of information that is being exchanged between individuals. Ants are unique among cooperative animals in that they overcome physical obstacles by linking together to form self-assemblages such as ladders, chains, walls and rafts. This is a simplified type of swarm behavior, in which members of the swarm interact through physical contact with their nearest neighbors. Such a model system allows us to visualize, to a high degree, the dynamics and communication within the swarm. This system will be studied by adapting high-precision measurement devices called rheometers, typically used to study inanimate materials, to examine small-scale swarming behavior. The physical cues that the ants use to communicate will be determined and general principles for swarm robotics will be developed. Graduate students will be involved in the project and undergraduate students, including those from groups underrepresented in science and engineering, will be recruited to participate in the research. In addition, an after-school program about bio-inspired design will be initiated at a nearby high school.