In this study I investigate and develop a behaviour-based system from which flocking may emerge.
Flocking is a particularly evocative example of emergence: where complex global behaviour can arise from the interaction of simple local rules.
Flocking simulations are developed in this study that display realistic movement, but they do not yet represent herding by another agent. The ability of an agent to coerce the flock into a fixed area has not been explored but I hope to develop such behaviour, in a future study.
I hope to develop autonomous creatures that interface with their environment through perception and action. In this way they will react to situations as they happen and take appropriate action.
I have developed a computer model of co-ordinated animal motion such as sheep flocks or cattle herds. It has been developed using Borland C++ v4.5 and an Object-Oriented Design methodology. The model allows a user-controlled predator to be manipulated to interact with and influence the flock.
