NOV 10

Next time you're stuck in traffic and antsy to get to your destination, think of this new mantra: What Would Ants Do?

A team of researchers in Germany's Dresden Institute of Technology are studying how humans can apply ant-think to clear up clogged roads and make traffic flow faster, thus reducing idling times where no one is going anywhere. The study is headed up by collective intelligence expert Dirk Helbing who hopes to learn how ants figure out their way of moving around in their crowded colonies and apply that to the crowded colonies on our urban roads.

The ants are being studied for how they respond collectively when two paths are created. Both paths are made up of sugar syrup meal and the only difference between them is one lane is much narrower than the other. When the narrow route, as expected, became congested, ants know to tell each other to redirect their travels. An ant returning from the congested narrow route encounters another ant heading up that route and pushes that ant towards the wider lane. Similarly, an ant on the wide path with no congestion does not redirect an ant entering into the lane.

The researchers reported in their findings in this week's New Scientist that they found that just before the shortest route got congested, outgoing ants diverted incoming ants to another route and traffic jams along the sugar syrup meal corridor never formed.

The German researchers then applied what they learned in studying the insects and created a computer model of more complex networks of routes of varying lengths. They discovered that ants continued to do the same thing, redirecting incoming ants to less congested corridors and even if the incoming ants were pushed into a longer route, they still managed to get to the food quickly and efficiently.

Now imagine cars traveling in one direction being able to remotely tell oncoming vehicles what traffic conditions they are about to enter into so they could divert their route. The long and lonesome road may in the future get more efficient with a little bit of help from ants.

Via GreenCarWebsite and New Scientist

Comments (10)

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Would be cool
written by HankS, November 10, 2008

If this type of info was sent to a city-wide traffic report system that sent realtime traffic pattern updates to your car, allowing you to avoid traffic problems.

I think some satnav systems track construction (mine only gives directions :/ ), but realtime traffic info and avoidance suggestions would be ideal.

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written by Clinch, November 10, 2008

But if all the ant-cars are redirected from a congested route, to a second route, although then all it means it the second route becomes congested instead of the first.

But satnav's being able to display (and possibly send) traffic information sounds like a great idea.

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written by miltowny, November 10, 2008

so many people going in the same general direction.... seems like a train may suit the needs much better?

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written by sarah, November 10, 2008

We do do this a bit already without realizing that we are reading the signs perhaps. In bad weather the cars coming toward us tell us about conditions by having their lights or windshield wipers on or snow collected on their roofs etc. Also on the highways people flash lights to tell us to slow down to avoid radar traps. If we take note, we make adjustments to our route or plan accordingly. Geospace person to group or group to person message broadcasting and retrieval capabilities are on the horizon and might cause much less congestion and frustration to travelers. But, can pack animals like ourselves act for the greater good of flow like colony animals?

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What ants can teach us about driving
written by Todd, November 10, 2008

Live in high density housing in a multi-use neighbourhood (plants, animals, fungi, etc). And most of all, ensure you are within walking distance of everything you need.

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forget ants - it's the network stupid
written by Dutch, November 11, 2008

Forget the ants as a model. Let's network all the cars and let some central servers (traffic routers and switches) dictate who goes where when. I know we Americans won't be the first to do this, but wouldn't it be better if we didn't even need to drive the car at all?

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Ant locomotion
written by eltham, November 12, 2008

Ants do not move in an orderly fashion, rather, they move by seemingly random short movements. They frequently collide with other ants, backtrack on themselves and get hopelessly excited by external stimuli.

If motor vehicles were driven in the manner of ants, then the national road toll would be enormous.

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swarm theory
written by Marilyn Terrell, November 12, 2008

National Geographic had an article on swarm theory a year ago, and it mentioned that Southwest Airlines tested an ant-based model to improve service at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic....ller-text

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Difference between ants and people
written by Dan, November 12, 2008

Here is a good cartoon illustrating miltowny's point.
http://www.comicspace.com/skor..._id=149924

But what is fundamentally different between people and ants. An ant colony most likely has an optimum population size that in which it most effectively operates. If not, it is at least more subject to predator-prey checks and balances. In a human population, unless we regress medically, or institute some sort of population control, we will always be adding streets or widening streets to accommodate additional driving population. And don't get me started on the escalating rate of extinction due to habitat destruction from land development.

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Beirut Traffic is already like this
written by Humdee, November 19, 2008

I was amazed when on holidays in Beirut, that during peak hour traffic 4 lanes of traffic suddenly become a mishmash of lanes up to six wide travelling slowly but steadily. From a distance it looks like complete chaos, but as a driver it just like following the car in front and minding the cars either side, when you need to change lanes to exit for example you just indicate and a gap opens up. The system only works because the traffic police let it happen and because drivers are aware of others and give-away always.

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