Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 5. Agents in a flock being pulled toward a deposit. The number on top of each agent represents
its current state (0 for Searching for a deposit, 1 for Picking up). Only agents in state 1 actually detect
the deposit. At a, only two agents have located the deposit, while the rest of the flock moves northward.
At b and c, agents that are near the deposit but that do not yet see it turn toward those agents that have
seen the deposit and are already going toward it. From d to f, the whole flock gradually turns toward
the deposit and collects minerals. Such behavior indicates an advantage of collective movements in
recruiting other agents to carrying a resource when it is discovered by just a few.
that strictly requires cooperation. Additionally,
there are multiple destinations, surrounded by
obstacles, where the product might be taken, forc-
ing the agents to choose a destination for every
unit of product in a way that will distribute the
product equally among the destinations (Figure
6).The product (shaped as two-dimensional rods)
is generated by sources at regular intervals and
deposited in a random location inside the source's
neighborhood. Thus, an infinite supply of product
is available for the agents.
As before, an FSM and a simple memory con-
trol the high-level decisions of an agent while a
basic set of reactive behaviors is associated with
every state. This memory works basically as a
look-up table, with the positions of the destinations
preloaded in the rows of the table at the beginning
of the simulation. Along with the position of a
destination, agents store their individual beliefs
about the amount of product present in a given
destination and a time-stamp of the moment when
the information was collected. This information
is acquired by directly counting the amount of
product in the neighborhood when an agent vis-
its the destination, or by exchanging memories
with neighboring agents, preserving the most
recent memories on a row by row basis. With this
information, agents select as destination for the
product the destination with the lowest amount of
it, which is believed to be most in need.
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