Analyzing Emergent Behaviors Within Computational Models of Insect Swarms.

Swarms of insects and similar species show signs of collective or emergent behaviors. We can analyze these behaviors thoroughly by looking at how randomness and emergence are related to different formations of insect swarms. This work focuses on a newly developed computational model that sits somewhere in between random and deterministic models by incorporating random perturbations in velocity. In addition to this new model, we look at the “behaviors” shown by other models including, but not limited to, polarization, diffusion, rotational inertia, distribution of insects, etc. Furthermore, we examine how the use of random number generators can influence computational models, focusing on the spread of randomness in these models from a completely stochastic model, to a deterministic model developed by Dan Gorbonos et al [1.] which is formulated upon a specific equation of motion.

[1.] Dan Gorbonos et al, New J. Phys. 2016, 18, 073042.