The author of the article “The Smart Swarm,” Peter Miller, is interested in the question of how individual animals are coordinated. He wonders how animals can spontaneously begin to act as a single organism. Miller coined the term “smart swarm” to explain this phenomenon (para. 2). In essence, it means a group of individuals to whom some behavioral strategy gives an advantage in a situation of uncertainty. The author describes his observation of birds in a park not far from the White House (para 2). Although there is no leader in a flock of pigeons, this does not prevent them from moving in sync. The birds have swarm intelligence – they are constantly observing each other, which allows them to navigate the constantly changing environment better. This observation by Peter Miller is confirmed by Craig Reynolds’ research (para 4). The latter created a program to find out which rules the birds follow when they fly (para. 4). Reynolds’ research has led to improvements in the demonstration of animals in computer games and has made it possible to create more efficient robots.
The advantage of robots based on swarm intelligence is that individual robots could exchange information about the terrain by communicating with each other. Thus, in the event of changes in the environment, they would be able to react much faster. In order to do this, the robots do not have to be complex. It is only important that there is an opportunity for the transfer of information. In addition, robots can be replaced in case they suddenly fail (para 6). According to the author, the main advantage of these robots is the absence of a leader, that is, the decentralized control of the movement (para 6). The main task is to perform a specific action; the question of who is responsible for the execution is secondary (para. 6). In the future, swarm-based intelligence may prove very useful, particularly for assistance in the field. For example, in the event of a fire, it is rational to send robots there capable of analyzing the location, features, and nature of the fire. The development of swarmanoid – groups of robots with unique abilities – is already underway. Moreover, the potential of using such devices for military purposes is evident. In 2004, for example, robots were sent to look for objects in an empty office building.
Reference
Miller, P. (2010). The smart swarm. Penguin Publishing Group.