Boids
Boids is an artificial life program, developed by Craig Reynolds in 1986, which simulates the flocking behaviour of birds. The name "Boids" is a play on the word "birds", reflecting the program's focus on simulating avian movement. The Boids model is based on three simple rules that govern the behaviour of each individual boid (bird-like object) in the simulation:
- Separation: Boids try to avoid crowding their local flockmates.
- Alignment: Boids steer towards the average heading of their local flockmates.
- Cohesion: Boids move towards the average position of their local flockmates.
By following these three rules, boids can create complex and realistic flocking behaviour, including formations, splits, and merges. The Boids model has been widely used in computer graphics, animation, and artificial life research, and has inspired many other simulations of collective behaviour in animals and humans.