RUI: Mechanisms of Emergent Swarm Behavior: Simulation Models vs. Whirligig Experiments.

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Birds, fish, insects, and humans join groups to avoid predators, gather food, and move long distances. The movement rules of these individuals are remarkably similar between species, as are the emergent group patterns. Two principle questions about emergent patterns will be addressed by this project: 1) how do individual differences (size, gender, leadership) influence a group's speed and turning?, and 2) how do groups interact with solid structures? Techniques to answer these questions include: controlled behavioral studies of marked insect groups; studies mixing real and robotic insects; and mathematical simulation models. Projected results include understanding how: 1) panic responses can spread through a crowd based on motions of only several individuals, and 2) leadership, diversity, and the shape of an exit influences escape rates of panicked groups. Other applied outcomes from the research may include the modeling and control of: geese flocks near airports, humans leaving buildings, military robots, and migrating groups of cancer cells. Tools developed during the research, such as the group simulation model, robotic insects, and automatic tracking system, will be detailed in primary literature articles and/or made available on the internet. As well as the primary knowledge resulting from this cutting-edge interdisciplinary work, the project will train and support nine undergraduate students, preparing them to enter graduate school and become the next generation of scientists ready to decipher the behaviors of animal groups moving through our world.