Researchers in Spain have designed a system for the mobility of military troops within a battlefield that utilizes the swarm mechanisms that ant colonies use to move. Using swarm algorithms to plot the best paths through future battlefields, the software would allow army units to find the best paths through hazardous battlefields with minimal casualties balanced against best possible speed. It takes a cue from the behavior of ant scouts that discover the best paths leading to food, and then leave pheromone scent trails for other ants to follow. Ants end up choosing the “best” routes that have been painted multiple times by their fellow scouts, as a sort of vote on the best trail.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-11/uog-anc110609.phpwww.eurekalert.org
