“Pitfalls” of Bio-Inspired Models on the Example of Ant Trails

Abstract

This paper explores the problem of influencing the environment by a group of autonomous robots through the creation and use of road infrastructure. The model object is ant roads (trails). We identify the main aspects of the behavior of different ant species in the process of collective foraging, and actions that together lead to the appearance of a phenomenon that the observer perceives as an ant road. We develop and describe an animat behavior model in the process of arranging a route. We define a list of mechanisms, a set of sensory capabilities, and effectors that are necessary for the robot to implement options for arranging the route. The results of simulation modeling for solving the foraging problem with route clearing are consistent with theoretical models. The simulation results confirm our assumption that the route arrangement can be carried out by individual efforts of animats (robots) and without the need to organize joint actions.