What are some good resources on flocking and swarm algorithms?

Question

Awhile ago I read the novel Prey . Even though it is definitely in the realm of fun science fiction, it piqued my interest in swarm/flock AI. I've been seeing some examples of these demos recently on reddit such as the Nvidia plane flocking video and Chris Benjaminsen's flocking sandbox ( source ).

I'm interested in writing some simulation demos involving swarm or flocking AI. I've taken Artificial Intelligence in college but we never approached the subject of simulating swarming/flocking behaviors and a quick flip through my textbook reveals that it isn't dicussed.

_{Flocking Sandbox}

What are some solid resources for learning some of the finer points around flock/swarm algorithms? Does anyone have any experience in this field so they could point me in the right direction concerning a well suited AI book or published papers?

Answer 1

What you're asking for is actually much more simple than you think. The canonical source is http://www.red3d.com/cwr/boids/ .

Answer 2

there are a few techniques that you may want to read up on:

1. Ant Colony Optmiziation
2. Celluar Automata
3. Self Organizing Maps

Also: The wiki page isn't a bad start.