Collective Behavior: Emergence and Principles

This lecture explores the concept of collective behavior, as described by Anderson in 1972, focusing on how complex phenomena emerge from interactions between individual units. It delves into examples such as fish schools, traffic patterns, bird flocks, and ant colonies. The discussion includes the work of Ian Cousin, who studied collective behavior in various organisms, demonstrating how simple rules can lead to complex group dynamics. The lecture also touches on the phenomenon of marching locusts and its mathematical underpinnings. Furthermore, it discusses the application of biological swarming principles in robotics, emphasizing the advantages of using swarms for tasks like search and rescue, structural manipulation, and dynamic measurements.