Delay-feedback control of flocks

Abstract

It is natural that we see flocks of birds flying over the sky when parents tell us that they are heading home. From the perspective of researchers, the seemingly random yet ordered formation is a fantastic and amazing phenomenon for them to investigate on—what we call—flocking. Recent years a surging interest has been raised into the control of flocking behaviors. In this project, graph theory, complex network and multi-agent systems such related theories on flocking agents, systems and algorithms are studied. An algorithm to formulate flocking behavior is with a time delay is presented. Computer simulations incorporating separation, alignment, cohesion as well as obstacles avoidance and target following are carried out. The simulation result is discussed and some further development on the flocking algorithm is proposed.