Abstract
We present in this article, a new decentralized algorithmic approach for the automatic construction of three-dimensional structure based on simple behavioral rules. This model is an improvement of the model introduced by Eric Bonabeau and Guy Theraulaz to simulate the process of building wasps’ nest. To speed up the construction process, and to prevent the builder swarm from moving far away from regions with stimuli to build, we constructed a dynamic envelope that limits agents’ movements to remain close to the built structure. The envelope adjusts both as the structure develops and as agents assess whether individual sites should be built in, or not. The use of such an envelope results in faster construction and gives an explicit method for terminating a simulation when no buildable sites remain, thus indicating that a structure has converged to its final form.




Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adam JG (2006) Designing emergence: automatic extraction of stigmergic algorithms from lattice structures. Ph.D. Dissertation, Essex University
Allwright M (2017) An autonomous multi-robot system for stigmergy-based construction. Ph.D. dissertation, Paderborn University
Anderson C, Theraulaz G, Deneubourg JL (2002) Self-Assemblages in Insect Societies. Insectes Soc 49(2):99–110
Bonabeau E, Dorigo M, Theraulaz G (1999) Swarm intelligence: from natural to artificial systems. Oxford university press, New York
Bonabeau E, Guérin S, Snyers D, Kuntz P, Theraulaz G (2000) Three-dimensional architectures grown by simple ‘stigmergic’ agents. BioSystems 56(1):13–32
Bonabeau E, Theraulaz G (1997a) Auto-organisation et comportements collectifs: la modélisation des sociétés d’insectes. In: Theraulaz G, Splitz F (eds) Auto-organisation et comportement. Hermes, Paris, pp 91–140
Bonabeau E, Theraulaz G (1997b) La modélisation du comportement bâtisseur des insectes sociaux. In: Theraulaz G, Splitz F (eds) Auto-organisation et comportement. Hermes, Paris, pp 209–234
Dorigo M, Stützle T (2004) Ant Colony Optimization. MIT Press, Cambridge
Downing HA, Jeanne RL (1988) Nest construction by the paper wasp, Polistes: a test of stigmergy theory. Anim Behav 36(6):1729–1739
Garnier S, Gautrais J, Theraulaz G (2007) The biological principles of swarm intelligence. Swarm Intell 1(1):3–31
Grassé PP (1959) La reconstruction du nid et les coordinations interindividuelles chez Bellicositermes natalensis et Cubitermes sp. La théorie de la stigmergie: Essai d’interprétation du comportement des termites constructeurs. Insectes Soc 6(1):41–80
Hamou RM, Amine A, Rahmani M (2012) A new biomimetic approach based on social spiders for clustering of text. In: Lee R (ed) Software engineering research, management and appl, vol 430. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 17–30
Heylighen F (2016a) Stigmergy as a universal coordination mechanism I: Definition and components, Cognitive Systems Research, vol 38. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 4–13
Heylighen F (2016b) Stigmergy as a universal coordination mechanism II: varieties and evolution, cognitive systems research, vol 38. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 50–59
Karsai I (1999) Decentralized control of construction behavior in paper wasps: an overview of the stigmergy approach. Artif Life 5(2):117–136
Karsai I, Balazsi G (2002) Organization of work via a natural substance: regulation of nest construction in social wasps. J Theor Biol 218(4):549–565
Karsai I, Pénzes Z (1993) Comb building in social wasps: self-organization and stigmergic script. J Theor Biol 161(4):505–525
Korb J (2011) Termite mound architecture, from function to construction. In: Bignell DE, Roisin Y, Lo N (eds) Biology of termites: a modern synthesis. Springer, New York, pp 349–374
Monmarché N (2000) Algorithmes de fourmis artificielles: applications à la classification et à l’optimisation. Ph.D. dissertation, Université François Rabelais,Tours
Pilat ML (2006) Wasp-inspired construction algorithms. Technical Report TN 2006-847-40, Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary. https://prism.ucalgary.ca/bitstream/handle/1880/46477/2006-847-40.pdf?sequence=%26amp;isAllowed=y
Sendova-Franks AB, Franks NR (1999) Self-assembly, self-organization and division of labour. Philos Trans R Soc B Biol Sci 354(1388):1395–1405
Sharan K (2015) Learn JavaFX 8: building user experience and interfaces with Java 8. Apress, Berkeley
Spell TB (2015) Pro Java 8 programming. Apress, Berkeley
Theraulaz G, Bonabeau E (1995a) Coordination in distributed building. Science 269(5224):686–688
Theraulaz G, Bonabeau E (1995b) Modelling the collective building of complex architectures in social insects with lattice swarms. J Theor Biol 177(4):381–400
Theraulaz G, Bonabeau E (1999) A brief history of stigmergy. Artif Life 5(2):97–116
Theraulaz G, Bonabeau E, Deneubourg JL (1999) The mechanisms and rules of coordinated building in social insects. In: Detrain C, Deneubourg JL, Pasteels JM (eds) Information processing in social insects. Birkhäuser, Basel, pp 309–330
Wenzel JW (1991) Evolution of nest architecture. In: Ross KG, Matthews RW (eds) The social biology of wasps. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, pp 480–519
Werfel J (2012) Collective construction with robot swarms. In: Doursat R, Sayama H, Michel O (eds) Morphogenetic engineering. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 115–140
Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to our Associate Editor, Miriam Richards, and the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback and guidance. Their critical review has greatly improved the final version of this article.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rahmani, M., Lehireche, A. & Hamou, R.M. An improved approach for the collective construction of architectures inspired by wasp nests. Insect. Soc. 66, 73–80 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-018-0671-2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-018-0671-2
