The Boids simulation is a computer program that simulates the flocking behavior of birds, fish, or other animals. It was first introduced by computer scientist Craig Reynolds in 1986.
The simulation models the behavior of individual animals as "boids" (short for bird-oids). Each boid follows three simple rules:
- Separation: Avoid collisions with nearby boids
- Alignment: Align with the average direction of nearby boids
- Cohesion: Move towards the average position of nearby boids
These rules are implemented by calculating the forces that act on each boid based on the positions and velocities of nearby boids, and updating the position and velocity of each boid accordingly. By following these rules, the boids can exhibit complex and realistic flocking behavior.
The Boids simulation has found applications in a variety of fields, including robotics, computer graphics, and artificial intelligence. It has been used to design autonomous robots that can navigate and communicate with each other, to create realistic simulations of crowds and traffic, and to study the behavior of social animals such as ants and bees.