Flocking and Boids
- The lead ‘animal’ operates in ‘avoid obstacle’ mode.
- The others operate in ‘follow’ mode.
Craig Reynolds’ boids
Craig Reynolds is a software engineer, based in California. His research centres around using computer programs to simulate complex natural phenomenon. Reynolds writes software which simulates various types of human and animal behaviour. He has developed three rules for flocking behaviour of ‘boids’ that combined, give a realistic impression of flocking birds:- Separation: Steer to avoid crowding with local flock mates.
- Alignment: Steer toward the average heading of local flock mates.
- Cohesion: Steer to move toward average position of local flock mates.
What did you think of the flocking and the boids videos? Share your thoughts in the discussion and remember, you can ‘like’ comments made by others.“Boids are not birds; they are not even remotely like birds; they have no cohesive physical structure, but rather exist as information structures – processes with a computer. But – and this is the critical ‘but’ – at the level of behaviours, flocking boids and flocking birds are two instances of the same phenomenon: flocking. So these boids are examples of artificial life, ‘but not as we know it.”
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