RESEARCH AREA 10: NETWORK SCIENCE- Macroscopic Properties and Microscopic Interactions in Insect Swarms
Abstract
The objectives of this proposal are to gather empirical data on the kinematics and dynamics of a non-biting insect (Chironomus riparius) in order to assess and improve current modeling strategies as well as to attempt to solve the inverse problem of deducing low-level individual rules from large-scale, emergent behavior of the insects. The current proposal will continue previous work by the Pl by using the new experimental protocols to gather massive data sets and thus huge amounts of information on the positions, velocities, and accelerations of individual midges. Using this data, effective interactions and ranges, locally correlated motion and mesoscale structure, formation and dissolution of aggregations, and sampling of the swarm volume by individuals will be explored. Complementing the experimental work, existing models will be considered and adapted and potentially new models developed that accurately reflect the actual biology. Although both Lagrangian and Eulerian models were meant to be considered in the proposal, the PI s work since the writing of the proposal has shown that continuum (Eulerian) modeling of the aggregations is not valid; instead, a Lagrangian approach to modeling will be taken, in which separate equations of motion will be written for each individual and then coupled together via interaction terms. The RHS of the equation of motion for each individual will have a part that specifies the interaction between individuals, but in order to represent realistic behavior it must also have a part that determines the behavior of the individual in the absence of neighbors - for the midges, this individual behavior would likely involve a combination of searching the internal volume of the aggregation for females and frequently looking outside the aggregate to watch for external predators. This, then, is the novel approach the PI will take for modeling swarms: to accurately determine from the data the complex individual behavior of the midges in the absence of neighbors and then lo formulate a model blending this behavior with existing interaction rules. Different emergent states of the full model can then be obtained by varying the relative strength of the base behavior and the interactions - a situation qualitatively different from current approaches, in which the different emergent states come from tuning the balance of different kinds of interactions. The PI s extensive experience characterizing the complicated Lagrangian trajectories of fluid particles in turbulence will be invaluable in undertaking validation of the modeling, in which he plans to statistically compare the geometry of the trajectories produced from the model with the trajectories actually taken by the real midges.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 12, 2017
- Source ID
- W911NF1610185
Entities
People
- Nicholas T. Ouellette
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Stanford University
- United States Army