Ball games and collective behaviours: from crystallization to collective intelligence

What could be more fascinating animal societies organizing themselves to perform such complex tasks as the construction of termite mounds, the management of an ant farm, or the genesis of swarms of starlings that criss-cross the sky? Such collective behaviors bring questions on the capacity of organisms that are a priori "simple" to generate complex forms, whose general plan escapes each individual a priori.

Who hasn't dreamed of taking inspiration from these systems to develop a company of mini-robots in charge of our daunting daily tasks?

This raises the question of the minimum mechanisms necessary to achieve such behaviours. Are they the prerogative of the living world and natural selection mechanisms? Perhaps not; the atoms that make up matter also organize themselves, in billions of billions, to form crystals. What are the differences between the organization of crystals from that of animal herds?

Using a variety of simple model experiences, as simple as a ball game, we will discuss these questions and today's understanding of the principles that govern the simplest forms of collective organization. We will converge by sketching out some ideas on the possible developments of swarm robotics.

The conference will be held at the IPGG (6 rue Jean Calvin, Paris 5ème)

The Espace des Sciences Pierre-Gilles de Gennes is the place for public engagement run by ESPCI Paris and Université PSL.