Saturday, November 23, 2002

Boids of a Feather Flock Together

While searching for modeling information for my e-game I came across the “boids” homepage. Boids creator Craig Reynolds discovered that they spontaneously display perfect flocking behavior when programmed with three simple rules:

Separation: Don't get too close to any object, including other boids;
Alignment: Try to match the speed and direction of nearby boids;
Cohesion: Head for the perceived center of mass of the boids in your immediate neighborhood.

In short, each boid acts entirely on its own; there are no overarching instructions for the entire population. Even when they begin in random positions all over the computer landscape, the boids inevitably arrange themselves into flocks, even after flying around an obstacle.

The page is a great source for information and links relating to computer modeling and behavioral animation.

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