Rheology of ants: structural properties of cooperative networks

该奖项由2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公法111-5)资助。合作行为是动物的共同特征，从细菌的薄膜到鸟群，再到鲸鱼群。对个体之间这种协调的观察启发了计算机科学家和机器人专家试图制造以群体为灵感的设备。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居行为。然而，仍然有必要进行实验，清楚地显示个人之间交换的信息的性质。蚂蚁在合作的动物中是独一无二的，因为它们通过连接在一起形成梯子、链条、墙壁和木筏等自我组装来克服物理障碍。这是一种简化的群体行为类型，群体成员通过与最近邻居的身体接触进行互动。这样的模型系统使我们能够在很大程度上可视化蜂群内的动态和交流。这一系统将通过采用高精度的流变仪来研究，流变仪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，并将制定群体机器人的一般原则。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较低的学生，将被招募参与研究。此外，附近的一所高中将启动一个关于生物灵感设计的课外项目。

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.