Collective motion patterns of swarms with delay coupling: Theory and experiment

Area of Science:

• Complex Systems
• Nonlinear Dynamics
• Collective Behavior

Background:

• Coherent pattern formation is crucial in engineering, physics, and biology.
• Interactions in self-propelled autonomous agents often involve communication delays.

Purpose of the Study:

• To model and experimentally realize a mixed-reality swarm of delay-coupled agents.
• To investigate the impact of delay coupling on pattern formation and robustness.

Main Methods:

• Modeling agents with delayed communication relay of position.
• Analysis using Erdös-Renyi network assumptions.
• Simulations and mixed-reality experiments.

Main Results:

• Stable coherent patterns emerge exclusively through delay coupling.
• Patterns demonstrate robustness against decreasing network connectivity and heterogeneous agent dynamics.
• Bifurcation structures are influenced by agent acceleration heterogeneity and network connectivity.

Conclusions:

• Delay coupling is a key mechanism for achieving robust coherent patterns in agent swarms.
• Heterogeneity and limited connectivity significantly alter pattern emergence dynamics.
• Experimental validation confirms delay-induced pattern formation in mixed-reality swarms.