Flocking Simulation with Boids

By Chris Hoynck van Papendrecht 15340791

Overview

This program simulates the flocking behavior of boids (artificial agents) in a 2D environment. The simulation demonstrates how simple rules—cohesion, alignment, and separation—can result in complex group behavior resembling bird flocks. The boids also avoid boundaries using a repulsion mechanism.

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Features

1. Flocking Rules:

   • Cohesion: Boids steer toward the midpoint of their neighbors.
   • Alignment: Boids align their velocity with nearby neighbors.
   • Separation: Boids avoid getting too close to others or the border.

2. Boundary Handling:

   • Boids bounce off the edges of the simulation space.

3. Visualization:

   • Boids are visualized as moving points in a 2D plot.

4. Customizable Parameters:

   • Number of boids in the flock.
   • Maximum speed and boundary repulsion strength.

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How to Run

1. Ensure you have the required libraries installed:

   pip install numpy matplotlib scipy

2. Save the program to a Python file, e.g., boid.py.

3. Run the program:

   python boid.py

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Notes

1. Behavior Formation:

   • The boids take a few seconds of simulation to organize and demonstrate clear flocking behavior.

2. Parameters:

   • You can adjust the number of boids by changing (change 100 to desired number of boids):

     flock = Flock(100)  

   • Modify the flocking and boundary rules by tweaking weights in the apply_rules() method.

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Program Components

1. Boid Class

• Represents an individual boid with:
  • Position
  • Velocity
  • Acceleration

2. Flock Class

• Manages the flock of boids.
• Implements rules for movement and interactions:
  • Cohesion, alignment, separation, and border repulsion.
• Updates positions and ensures boids remain within bounds.

3. Visualization

• Real-time animation using matplotlib.animation.FuncAnimation.