FLOCKING
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1295 ▶ |
| Object type | Discipline oriented, General information, Human sciences |
A massive emergent collective behavior among animals and some micro-organisms through which they alineate their movements in ordered patterns .
More generally it is a typical behavior of numerous elements in originally random interaction within a confined space (See M. BUCHANAN, 2000).
Flocking is observed in birds flights, in fish shoals , in some bacteria and seems even to correspond to atoms orientation in magnets.
It has been modelized by C. REYNOLDS through a computer program applied to a number of “creatures” called boids.
REYNOLDS' algorithm imposes them three simple rules :
- Try to match your direction with your neighbours
- Head for their average position
- Don't collide
Flocking appears as an emergent property in such a setting.
It appears to be an adaptive collective condition corresponding to a more efficient global use of energy . As a behavior it leads to the emergence of complex systems at a higher level , in accordance with PRIGOGINE's theorem of minimum entropy production “ and HAKEN's so-called slaving principle
T. VICZEK, of E tv s University, in Budapest, and some American researchers, have developed mathematical models of this quite frequent phenomenon (B. SCHECHTER, 1999, p.30-33)
See also
Crowd Physics, Order from Noise, School, Swarm