Collective Information Processing – From Simple Flocking Models to Real Ecological Systems

Abstract:

Collective systems such animal groups or cellular ensembles represent fascinating examples of self-organization in biology. In contrast to non-living physical systems, self-organized biological collectives are results of long-term evolutionary adaptations to a specific ecological niche, where collective behavior provides evolutionary benefits to individual agents. However, collective information processing, as an important biological function and a core aspect of collective intelligence, is always subject to constraints set by the interaction mechanisms and the resulting self-organized dynamics.

In this lecture, we will review models of self-organized flocking, discuss their potential limitations, open question, and newer developments. Further on, we will discuss the interplay between self-organization and collective information processing with some specific examples from our recent research, as e.g. collective migration in complex environments, or collective predator evasion.