@article{Campo_in_prep,
name = {Controlling the self-organized decision of robot swarms using collective discrimination},
author = {Campo, Alexandre and Gutiérrez, Alvaro and Garnier, Simon and Moussaïd, Mehdi and Dorigo, Marco},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-12-31},
journal = {In preparation},
}

@article{garnier_in_prep1,
name = {Spatio-temporal characteristics of emerging trail networks in the Argentine ant Linepithema humile},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Perna, Andrea and Labédan, Marjorie and Fourcassié, Vincent and Theraulaz, Guy and Couzin, Iain D.},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-12-31},
journal = {In preparation},
}

@article{garnier_in_prep2,
name = {Temporal organization of traffic in army ant trails},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Hurme, Edward and Couzin, Iain D.},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-12-31},
journal = {In preparation},
}

@article{garnier_submitted1,
name = {Stability and responsiveness in a self-organized living architecture},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Tucker, Murphy and Lutz, Matthew and Hurme, Edward and Leblanc, Simon and Couzin, Iain D.},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-12-30},
journal = {PLoS Computational Biology},
volume = {In press},
}

@article{garnier_submitted2,
name = {Do ants need to estimate the geometrical properties of trail bifurcations to find an efficient route? A swarm robotics test bed},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Combe, Maud and Jost, Christian and Theraulaz, Guy},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-02-01},
journal = {PLoS Computational Biology},
volume = {In press},
}

@article{Miller2013,
name = {Both information and social cohesion determine collective decisions in animal groups},
author = {Miller, Noam and Garnier, Simon and Hartnett, Andrew and Couzin, Iain D.},
url = {http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/02/19/1217513110},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-02-01},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
volume = {Published online},
}

@article{Perna-2012,
name = {Individual rules for trail pattern formation in Argentine ants (Linepithema humile)},
author = {Perna, Andrea and Granovskiy, Boris and Garnier, Simon and Nicolis, Stamatios and Labédan, Marjorie and Theraulaz, Guy and Fourcassié, Vincent and Sumpter, David J.T},
url = {http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1002592&representation=PDF},
year = {2012},
date = {2012-07-19},
journal = {PLoS Computational Biology},
volume = {8},
number = {7},
pages = {e1002592},
abstract = {We studied the formation of trail patterns by Argentine ants exploring an empty arena. Using a novel imaging and analysis technique we estimated pheromone concentrations at all spatial positions in the experimental arena and at different times. Then we derived the response function of individual ants to pheromone concentrations by looking at correlations between concentrations and changes in speed or direction of the ants. Ants were found to turn in response to local pheromone concentrations, while their speed was largely unaffected by these concentrations. Ants did not integrate pheromone concentrations over time, with the concentration of pheromone in a 1 cm radius in front of the ant determining the turning angle. The response to pheromone was found to follow a Weber’s Law, such that the difference between quantities of pheromone on the two sides of the ant divided by their sum determines the magnitude of the turning angle. This proportional response is in apparent contradiction with the well-established non-linear choice function used in the literature to model the results of binary bridge experiments in ant colonies (Deneubourg et al. 1990). However, agent based simulations implementing the Weber’s Law response function led to the formation of trails and reproduced results reported in the literature. We show analytically that a sigmoidal response, analogous to that in the classical Deneubourg model for collective decision making, can be derived from the individual Weber-type response to pheromone concentrations that we have established in our experiments when directional noise around the preferred direction of movement of the ants is assumed.},
}

@article{Gallup2012,
name = {Visual attention and the acquisition of information in human crowds},
author = {Gallup, Andrew C. and Hale, Joe J. and Sumpter, David J. T. and Garnier, Simon and Kacelnik, Alex and Krebs, John R. and Couzin, Iain D.},
url = {http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/109/19/7245},
year = {2012},
date = {2012-01-01},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
volume = {109},
number = {19},
pages = {7245--7250},
abstract = {Pedestrian crowds can form the substrate of important socially contagious behaviors, including propagation of visual attention, violence, opinions, and emotional state. However, relating individual to collective behavior is often difficult, and quantitative studies have largely used laboratory experimentation. We present two studies in which we tracked the motion and head direction of 3,325 pedestrians in natural crowds to quantify the extent, influence, and context dependence of socially transmitted visual attention. In our first study, we instructed stimulus groups of confederates within a crowd to gaze up to a single point atop of a building. Analysis of passersby shows that visual attention spreads unevenly in space and that the probability of pedestrians adopting this behavior increases as a function of stimulus group size before saturating for larger groups. We develop a model that predicts that this gaze response will lead to the transfer of visual attention between crowd members, but it is not sufficiently strong to produce a tipping point or critical mass of gaze-following that has previously been predicted for crowd dynamics. A second experiment, in which passersby were presented with two stimulus confederates performing suspicious/irregular activity, supports the predictions of our model. This experiment reveals that visual interactions between pedestrians occur primarily within a 2-m range and that gaze-copying, although relatively weak, can facilitate response to relevant stimuli. Although the above aspects of gaze-following response are reproduced robustly between experimental setups, the overall tendency to respond to a stimulus is dependent on spatial features, social context, and sex of the passerby.},
}

@incollection{garnier_ants_2011,
name = {From Ants to Robots and Back: How Robotics Can Contribute to the Study of Collective Animal Behavior},
author = {Garnier, Simon},
editor = {Meng, Yan and Jin, Yaochu},
url = {http://www.springerlink.com/content/b123x172720w4686/abstract/
http://www.theswarmlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Garnier-2011.pdf},
issn = {978-3-642-20759-4},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-01-01},
booktitle = {Bio-Inspired Self-Organizing Robotic Systems},
volume = {355},
pages = {105--120},
publisher = {Springer Berlin / Heidelberg},
series = {Studies in Computational Intelligence},
abstract = {Swarm robotics has developed partly from biological discoveries that have been made on the organization of animal societies during the last thirty years. In this article, I review some of the ways robotics contributes in return to the study of collective animal behavior. I argue that robotics can bring significant improvements in this field, from a technical, conceptual and educational point of view. I base my discussion on five observations I have made while collaborating with computer scientists: robots require a complete specification; robots are physical entities; robots implement new technologies; robots can be inadvertent sources of biological inspiration; and robots are ”cool” gadgets.},
}

@article{campo_self-organized_2011,
name = {Self-Organized Discrimination of Resources},
author = {Campo, Alexandre and Garnier, Simon and Dédriche, Olivier and Zekkri, Mouhcine and Dorigo, Marco},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0019888
http://www.theswarmlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Campo-2011-PLoS-ONE.pdf},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-01-01},
journal = {PLoS ONE},
volume = {6},
number = {5},
pages = {e19888},
abstract = {When selecting a resource to exploit, an insect colony must take into account at least two constraints: the resource must be abundant enough to sustain the whole group, but not too large to limit exploitation costs, and risks of conflicts with other colonies. Following recent results on cockroaches and ants, we introduce here a behavioral mechanism that satisfies these two constraints. Individuals simply modulate their probability to switch to another resource as a function of the local density of conspecifics locally detected. As a result, the individuals gather at the smallest resource that can host the whole group, hence reducing competition and exploitation costs while fulfilling the overall group's needs. Our analysis reveals that the group becomes better at discriminating between similar resources as it grows in size. Also, the discrimination mechanism is flexible and the group readily switches to a better suited resource as it appears in the environment. The collective decision emerges through the self-organization of individuals, that is, in absence of any centralized control. It also requires a minimal individual cognitive investment, making the proposed mechanism likely to occur in other social species and suitable for the development of distributed decision making tools.},
}

@article{campo_artificial_2010,
name = {Artificial pheromone for path selection by a foraging swarm of robots},
author = {Campo, Alexandre and Gutiérrez, Álvaro and Nouyan, Shervin and Pinciroli, Carlo and Longchamp, Valentin and Garnier, Simon and Dorigo, Marco},
url = {http://www.springerlink.com/content/915004548v3v665n/abstract/
http://www.theswarmlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Campo-2010-Biol-Cybern.pdf},
year = {2010},
date = {2010-01-01},
journal = {Biological Cybernetics},
volume = {103},
number = {5},
pages = {339--352},
abstract = {Foraging robots involved in a search and retrieval task may create paths to navigate faster in their environment. In this context, a swarm of robots that has found several resources and created different paths may benefit strongly from path selection. Path selection enhances the foraging behavior by allowing the swarm to focus on the most profitable resource with the possibility for unused robots to stop participating in the path maintenance and to switch to another task. In order to achieve path selection, we implement virtual ants that lay artificial pheromone inside a network of robots. Virtual ants are local messages transmitted by robots; they travel along chains of robots and deposit artificial pheromone on the robots that are literally forming the chain and indicating the path. The concentration of artificial pheromone on the robots allows them to decide whether they are part of a selected path. We parameterize the mechanism with a mathematical model and provide an experimental validation using a swarm of 20 real robots. We show that our mechanism favors the selection of the closest resource is able to select a new path if a selected resource becomes unavailable and selects a newly detected and better resource when possible. As robots use very simple messages and behaviors, the system would be particularly well suited for swarms of microrobots with minimal abilities.},
}

@article{moussaid_walking_2010,
name = {The Walking Behaviour of Pedestrian Social Groups and Its Impact on Crowd Dynamics},
author = {Moussaïd, Mehdi and Perozo, Niriaska and Garnier, Simon and Helbing, Dirk and Theraulaz, Guy},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0010047
http://www.theswarmlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Moussaïd-2010-PLoS-ONE.pdf},
year = {2010},
date = {2010-01-01},
journal = {PLoS ONE},
volume = {5},
number = {4},
pages = {e10047},
abstract = {Human crowd motion is mainly driven by self-organized processes based on local interactions among pedestrians. While most studies of crowd behaviour consider only interactions among isolated individuals, it turns out that up to 70% of people in a crowd are actually moving in groups, such as friends, couples, or families walking together. These groups constitute medium-scale aggregated structures and their impact on crowd dynamics is still largely unknown. In this work, we analyze the motion of approximately 1500 pedestrian groups under natural condition, and show that social interactions among group members generate typical group walking patterns that influence crowd dynamics. At low density, group members tend to walk side by side, forming a line perpendicular to the walking direction. As the density increases, however, the linear walking formation is bent forward, turning it into a V-like pattern. These spatial patterns can be well described by a model based on social communication between group members. We show that the V-like walking pattern facilitates social interactions within the group, but reduces the flow because of its “non-aerodynamic” shape. Therefore, when crowd density increases, the group organization results from a trade-off between walking faster and facilitating social exchange. These insights demonstrate that crowd dynamics is not only determined by physical constraints induced by other pedestrians and the environment, but also significantly by communicative, social interactions among individuals.},
}

@article{moussaid_collective_2009,
name = {Collective Information Processing and Pattern Formation in Swarms, Flocks, and Crowds},
author = {Moussaid, Mehdi and Garnier, Simon and Theraulaz, Guy and Helbing, Dirk},
url = {http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1756-8765.2009.01028.x/abstract
http://www.theswarmlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Moussaïd-2009-Topics-in-Cognitive-Science-1.pdf},
year = {2009},
date = {2009-01-01},
journal = {Topics in Cognitive Science},
volume = {1},
number = {3},
pages = {469–497},
abstract = {The spontaneous organization of collective activities in animal groups and societies has attracted a considerable amount of attention over the last decade. This kind of coordination often permits group-living species to achieve collective tasks that are far beyond single individuals' capabilities. In particular, a key benefit lies in the integration of partial knowledge of the environment at the collective level. In this contribution, we discuss various self-organization phenomena in animal swarms and human crowds from the point of view of information exchange among individuals. In particular, we provide a general description of collective dynamics across species and introduce a classification of these dynamics not only with respect to the way information is transferred among individuals but also with regard to the knowledge processing at the collective level. Finally, we highlight the fact that the individual’s ability to learn from past experiences can have a feedback effect on the collective dynamics, as experienced with the development of behavioral conventions in pedestrian crowds.},
}

@article{moussaid_experimental_2009,
name = {Experimental study of the behavioural mechanisms underlying self-organization in human crowds},
author = {Moussaïd, Mehdi and Helbing, Dirk and Garnier, Simon and Johansson, Anders and Combe, Maud and Theraulaz, Guy},
url = {http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2009/05/07/rspb.2009.0405
http://www.theswarmlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Moussaïd-2009-Proc.-Biol.-Sci.pdf},
year = {2009},
date = {2009-01-01},
journal = {Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences},
abstract = {In animal societies as well as in human crowds, many observed collective behaviours result from self-organized processes based on local interactions among individuals. However, models of crowd dynamics are still lacking a systematic individual-level experimental verification, and the local mechanisms underlying the formation of collective patterns are not yet known in detail. We have conducted a set of well-controlled experiments with pedestrians performing simple avoidance tasks in order to determine the laws ruling their behaviour during interactions. The analysis of the large trajectory dataset was used to compute a behavioural map that describes the average change of the direction and speed of a pedestrian for various interaction distances and angles. The experimental results reveal features of the decision process when pedestrians choose the side on which they evade, and show a side preference that is amplified by mutual interactions. The predictions of a binary interaction model based on the above findings were then compared with bidirectional flows of people recorded in a crowded street. Simulations generate two asymmetric lanes with opposite directions of motion, in quantitative agreement with our empirical observations. The knowledge of pedestrian behavioural laws is an important step ahead in the understanding of the underlying dynamics of crowd behaviour and allows for reliable predictions of collective pedestrian movements under natural conditions.},
}

@article{garnier_path_2009,
name = {Path selection and foraging efficiency in Argentine ant transport networks},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Guérécheau, Aurélie and Combe, Maud and Fourcassié, Vincent and Theraulaz, Guy},
url = {http://www.springerlink.com/content/0115872k87516307/abstract/
http://www.theswarmlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Garnier-2009-Behavioral-Ecology-and-Sociobiology.pdf},
year = {2009},
date = {2009-01-01},
journal = {Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology},
volume = {63},
number = {8},
pages = {1167--1179},
abstract = {We experimentally investigated both individual and collective behavior of the Argentine ant Linepithema humile as they crossed symmetrical and asymmetrical bifurcations in gallery networks. Ants preferentially followed the branch that deviated the least from their current direction and their probability to perform a U-turn after a bifurcation increased with the turning angle at the bifurcation. At the collective level, colonies were better able to find the shortest path that linked the nest to a food source in a polarized network where bifurcations were symmetrical from one direction and asymmetrical from the other than in a network where all bifurcations were symmetrical. We constructed a model of individual behavior and showed that an individual’s preference for the least deviating path will be amplified via the ants’ mass recruitment mechanism thus explaining the difference found between polarized and non-polarized networks. The foraging efficiency measured in the simulations was three times higher in polarized than in non-polarized networks after only 15 min. We conclude that measures of transport network efficiency must incorporate both the structural properties of the network and the behavior of the network users.},
}

@article{garnier_self-organized_2009,
name = {Self-Organized Aggregation Triggers Collective Decision Making in a Group of Cockroach-Like Robots},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Gautrais, Jacques and Asadpour, Masoud and Jost, Christian and Theraulaz, Guy},
url = {http://adb.sagepub.com/content/17/2/109
http://www.theswarmlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Garnier-2009-Adaptive-Behavior.pdf},
year = {2009},
date = {2009-01-01},
journal = {Adaptive Behavior},
volume = {17},
number = {2},
pages = {109--133},
abstract = {Self-amplification processes are at the origin of several collective decision phenomena in insect societies. Understanding these processes requires linking individual behavioral rules of insects to a choice dynamics at the colony level. In a homogeneous environment, the German cockroach Blattella germanica displays self-amplified aggregation behavior. In a heterogeneous environment where several shelters are present, groups of cockroaches collectively select one of them. In this article, we demonstrate that the restriction of the self-amplified aggregation behavior to distinct zones in the environment can explain the emergence of a collective decision at the level of the group. This hypothesis is tested with robotics experiments and dedicated computer simulations. We show that the collective decision is influenced by the available spaces to explore and to aggregate in, by the size of the population involved in the aggregation process and by the probability of encounter zones while the robots explore the environment. We finally discuss these results from both a biological and a robotics point of view.},
}

@article{gerbier_are_2008,
name = {Are ants sensitive to the geometry of tunnel bifurcation?},
author = {Gerbier, Grégory and Garnier, Simon and Rieu, Cécile and Theraulaz, Guy and Fourcassié, Vincent},
url = {http://www.springerlink.com/content/l127351427441634/abstract/
http://www.theswarmlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Gerbier-2008-Anim-Cogn.pdf},
year = {2008},
date = {2008-01-01},
journal = {Animal Cognition},
volume = {11},
number = {4},
pages = {637--642},
abstract = {The ability to orient and navigate in space is essential for all animals whose home range is organized around a central point. Because of their small home range compared to vertebrates, central place foraging insects such as ants have for a long time provided a choice model for the study of orientation mechanisms. In many ant species, the movement of individuals on their colony home range is achieved essentially collectively, on the chemical trails laid down by their nest mates. In the initial stage of food recruitment, these trails can cross each other and thus form a network of interconnected paths in which ants have to orient. Previous simulation studies have shown that ants can find the shortest path between their nest and a food source in such a network only if there is a bias in the branch they choose when they reach an asymmetrical bifurcation. In this paper, we studied the choice of ants when facing either a symmetrical or an asymmetrical bifurcation between two tunnels. Ants were tested either on their way to a food source or when coming back to their nest, and either in the presence or in the absence of a chemical trail. Overall, our results show that the choice of an ant at a tunnel bifurcation depends more on the presence/absence of a trail pheromone than on the geometry of the bifurcation itself.},
}

@article{garnier_embodiment_2008,
name = {The Embodiment of Cockroach Aggregation Behavior in a Group of Micro-robots},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Jost, Christian and Gautrais, Jacques and Asadpour, Masoud and Caprari, Gilles and Jeanson, Raphaël and Grimal, Anne and Theraulaz, Guy},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/artl.2008.14.4.14400
http://www.theswarmlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Garnier-2008-Artif.-Life.pdf},
year = {2008},
date = {2008-01-01},
journal = {Artificial Life},
volume = {14},
number = {4},
pages = {387--408},
abstract = {We report the faithful reproduction of the self-organized aggregation behavior of the German cockroach Blattella germanica with a group of robots. We describe the implementation of the biological model provided by Jeanson et al. in Alice robots, and we compare the behaviors of the cockroaches and the robots using the same experimental and analytical methodology. We show that the aggregation behavior of the German cockroach was successfully transferred to the Alice robot despite strong differences between robots and animals at the perceptual, actuatorial, and computational levels. This article highlights some of the major constraints one may encounter during such a work and proposes general principles to ensure that the behavioral model is accurately transferred to the artificial agents.},
}

@article{garnier_biological_2007,
name = {The biological principles of swarm intelligence},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Gautrais, Jacques and Theraulaz, Guy},
url = {http://www.springerlink.com/content/34044447n82063u0/abstract/
http://www.theswarmlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Garnier-2007-Swarm-Intelligence.pdf},
year = {2007},
date = {2007-01-01},
journal = {Swarm Intelligence},
volume = {1},
number = {1},
pages = {3--31},
abstract = {The roots of swarm intelligence are deeply embedded in the biological study of self-organized behaviors in social insects. From the routing of traffic in telecommunication networks to the design of control algorithms for groups of autonomous robots, the collective behaviors of these animals have inspired many of the foundational works in this emerging research field. For the first issue of this journal dedicated to swarm intelligence, we review the main biological principles that underlie the organization of insects’ colonies. We begin with some reminders about the decentralized nature of such systems and we describe the underlying mechanisms of complex collective behaviors of social insects, from the concept of stigmergy to the theory of self-organization in biological systems. We emphasize in particular the role of interactions and the importance of bifurcations that appear in the collective output of the colony when some of the system’s parameters change. We then propose to categorize the collective behaviors displayed by insect colonies according to four functions that emerge at the level of the colony and that organize its global behavior. Finally, we address the role of modulations of individual behaviors by disturbances (either environmental or internal to the colony) in the overall flexibility of insect colonies. We conclude that future studies about self-organized biological behaviors should investigate such modulations to better understand how insect colonies adapt to uncertain worlds.},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier2007b,
name = {Alice in Pheromone Land: An Experimental Setup for the Study of Ant-like Robots},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Tâche, Fabien and Combe, Maud and Grimal, Anne and Theraulaz, Guy},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/SIS.2007.368024
http://www.theswarmlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Garnier-2007-CORD-Conference-Proceedings.pdf},
year = {2007},
date = {2007-01-01},
booktitle = {IEEE Swarm Intelligence Symposium, 2007. SIS 2007},
pages = {37--44},
abstract = {The pheromone trail laying and trail following behaviors of ants have proved to be an efficient mechanism to optimize path selection in natural as well as in artificial networks. Despite this efficiency, this mechanism is under-used in collective robotics because of the chemical nature of pheromones. In this paper we present a new experimental setup which allows to investigate with real robots the properties of a robotics systems using such behaviors. To validate our setup, we present the results of an experiment in which a group of 5 robots has to select between two identical alternatives a path linking two different areas. Moreover, a set of computer simulations provides a more complete exploration of the properties of this system. At last, experimental and simulation results lead us to interesting prediction that will be testable in our setup. ER -},
}

@incollection{garnier_aggregation_2005,
name = {Aggregation Behaviour as a Source of Collective Decision in a Group of Cockroach-Like-Robots},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Jost, Christian and Jeanson, Raphaël and Gautrais, Jacques and Asadpour, Masoud and Caprari, Gilles and Theraulaz, Guy},
editor = {Capcarrère, Mathieu and Freitas, Alex and Bentley, Peter and Johnson, Colin and Timmis, Jon},
url = {http://www.springerlink.com/content/bcqcylkcqpjt8vxy/abstract/
http://www.theswarmlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Garnier-2005-Advances-in-Artifical-Life-Proceedings.pdf},
issn = {978-3-540-28848-0},
year = {2005},
date = {2005-01-01},
booktitle = {Advances in Artificial Life},
volume = {3630},
pages = {169--178},
publisher = {Springer Berlin / Heidelberg},
series = {Lecture Notes in Computer Science},
abstract = {In group-living animals, aggregation favours interactions and information exchanges between individuals, and thus allows the emergence of complex collective behaviors. In previous works, a model of a self-enhanced aggregation was deduced from experiments with the cockroach Blattella germanica. In the present work, this model was implemented in micro-robots Alice and successfully reproduced the agregation dynamics observed in a group of cockroaches. We showed that this aggregation process, based on a small set of simple behavioral rules of interaction, can be used by the group of robots to select collectively an aggregation site among two identical or different shelters. Moreover, we showed that the aggregation mechanism allows the robots as a group to 'estimate' the size of each shelter during the collective decision-making process, a capacity which is not explicitly coded at the individual level.},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier:KfarBlum2013,
name = {Living Architectures: Bridge Construction in Army Ants},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Tucker, Murphy and Lutz, Matthew and Hurme, Edward and Leblanc, Simon and Couzin, Iain D.},
editor = {Ayali, Amir and Ben-Jacob, Eshel and Ariel, Gil and Couzin, Iain D.},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-02-18},
booktitle = {Animal Swarms Workshop},
address = {Kfar Blum, Israel},
abstract = {Robustness and adaptability are central to the functioning of biological systems, from gene networks to animal societies. Yet the mechanisms by which living organisms achieve both stability to perturbations and sensitivity to input are poorly understood. Here we present an integrated study of a living architecture in which army ants interconnect their bodies to span gaps. We demonstrate that these self-assembled bridges are a highly effective means of maintaining traffic flow over unpredictable terrain. The individual-level rules responsible depend only on locally-estimated traffic intensity and the number of neighbours to which ants are attached within the structure. We employ a parameterized computational model to reveal that bridges are tuned to be maximally stable in the face of regular, periodic fluctuations in traffic. However analysis of the model also suggests that interactions among ants give rise to feedback processes that result in bridges being highly responsive to sudden interruptions in traffic. Subsequent field experiments confirm this prediction and thus the dual nature of stability and flexibility in living bridges. Our study demonstrates the importance of robust and adaptive modular architecture to efficient traffic organisation and reveals general principles regarding the regulation of form in biological self-assemblies.},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier:Bielefeld2012,
name = {Living Architectures: Bridge Construction in Army Ants},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Tucker, Murphy and Lutz, Matthew and Hurme, Edward and Leblanc, Simon and Couzin, Iain D.},
editor = {Deutsch, Andreas and Theraulaz, Guy and Vicsek, Tamás},
year = {2012},
date = {2012-11-05},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the "Collective Motion in Biological Systems: from Data to Models" Workshop},
address = {Bielefeld, Germany},
abstract = {Robustness and adaptability are central to the functioning of biological systems, from gene networks to animal societies. Yet the mechanisms by which living organisms achieve both stability to perturbations and sensitivity to input are poorly understood. Here we present an integrated study of a living architecture in which army ants interconnect their bodies to span gaps. We demonstrate that these self-assembled bridges are a highly effective means of maintaining traffic flow over unpredictable terrain. The individual-level rules responsible depend only on locally-estimated traffic intensity and the number of neighbours to which ants are attached within the structure. We employ a parameterized computational model to reveal that bridges are tuned to be maximally stable in the face of regular, periodic fluctuations in traffic. However analysis of the model also suggests that interactions among ants give rise to feedback processes that result in bridges being highly responsive to sudden interruptions in traffic. Subsequent field experiments confirm this prediction and thus the dual nature of stability and flexibility in living bridges. Our study demonstrates the importance of robust and adaptive modular architecture to efficient traffic organisation and reveals general principles regarding the regulation of form in biological self-assemblies.},
}

@inproceedings{Delcourt:2012ur,
name = {Radial arm maze as a new paradigm to study collective behaviours in fish},
author = {Delcourt, Johann and Garnier, Simon and Miller, Noam Y. and Couzin, Iain D.},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/2268/127034},
year = {2012},
date = {2012-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the XIV European Congress of Ichthyology},
address = {Liège, Belgium},
abstract = {Collective decision-making is based on both environmental information perceived by individuals and social interactions with other group members. Determining and analyzing separately both interactions is a real challenge. If the environmental influences on group behaviours can be determined, new possibilities to collect information about processes inside the group become possible. To improve our knowledge of these processes, an experiment where collective decision-making can be measured easily and without any ambiguity is needed. For this perspective, a new paradigm in the study of collective behaviour is introduced here. The radial arm maze is a classical method used to study individual cognitive abilities. Its advantages are firstly to allow control of environmental information; secondly, to realize multi-way tests, and thirdly, to give the opportunity to collect categorical responses like presence/absence. We apply this paradigm for the first time to a whole animal group. We have also developed an image analysis system able to automatically count the number of individuals in every defined zone. Due to this counting, the degree of cohesion, the group stability, the activity and zone preferences can be described as function of factors such as the group size, the defined zones, or the experimental time. The degree of cohesion can be measured by a new index taking into account the number of sub-groups and the size of each ones. Group activity can be measured by the movement of the majority group between arms. This activity allows determining exploratory processes but also whether zone preferences or homing phenomena appear in the absence of any stimulus. To illustrate, our first results from the exploratory behaviour study of shoals of golden shiners (Notemigonus crysoleucas) are introduced. Using this new paradigm, it is now possible to quantify rapidly in a standardised way the collective responses of fish shoals according to the absence or presence of environmental stimuli, and to create experiments where environmental information is controlled.},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier2011a,
name = {Combination Laws During Collective Decision-Making In Fish},
author = {Miller, Noam and de Froment, Adrian and Garnier, Simon and Faria, Jolyon and Couzin, Iain D. },
year = {2011},
date = {2011-09-04},
booktitle = {Fish Behavior Symposium at AFS 141st Annual Meeting},
address = {Seattle, Washington, USA},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier2011b,
name = {Collective Discrimination In the Presence of Distractors: Application of the Treisman Feature Search Test to Schooling Fish},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Faria, Jolyon and de Froment, Adrian and Miller, Noam and Couzin, Iain D.},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-09-04},
booktitle = {Fish Behavior Symposium at AFS 141st Annual Meeting},
address = {Seattle, Washington, USA},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier:MBI2011,
name = {Exploratory trail networks in Argentine ants},
author = {Garnier, Simon},
editor = {Sumpter, David J.T. and Beekman, Madeleine and Pratt, Stephen C. and Kumar, Vijay and Topaz, Chad M.},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-03-14},
booktitle = {Insect Self-organization and Swarming MBI workshop},
address = {Colombus, OH},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier2010,
name = {Trail geometry encodes heuristic information in the Argentine ant},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Fourcassié, Vincent and Theraulaz, Guy},
year = {2010},
date = {2010-06-21},
booktitle = {Young
researcher symposium on "Crowd and swarm dynamics: interactions, self-organization, mathematics, applications" at
SIMAI 2010},
address = {Cagliari, Italy},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier2008,
name = {Self-organized movements in swarms, flocks and crowds},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Moussaïd, Mehdi},
year = {2008},
date = {2008-03-20},
booktitle = {XVIème Colloque de l’Association
Alpha-T des Doctorants en Biologie-Santé-Biotechnologies de Toulouse},
address = {Toulouse, France},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier2007,
name = {Alice in pheromone land: an experimental setup for the study of ant-like robots},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Jost, Christian and Tâche, Fabien and Theraulaz, Guy},
year = {2007},
date = {2007-04-01},
booktitle = {IEEE Swarm Intelligence Symposium},
address = {Hawaii, Hawaii, USA},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier2005c,
name = {Aggregation behaviour as a source of collective decision in a group of cockroachlike robots},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Jost, Christian and Theraulaz, Guy},
year = {2005},
date = {2005-09-05},
booktitle = {8th European Conference on Artificial Life},
address = {Canterbury, United Kingdom},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier2005b,
name = {Collective decision-making by a group of cockroach-like robots},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Jost, Christian and Theraulaz, Guy},
note = {Best student paper award},
year = {2005},
date = {2005-06-08},
booktitle = {2nd IEEE Swarm
Intelligence Symposium},
address = {Pasadena, California, USA},
note = {Best student paper award},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier2005,
name = {Décisions collectives dans des groupes de micro-robots},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Jost, Christian and Theraulaz, Guy},
year = {2005},
date = {2005-05-02},
booktitle = {6ème Colloque des
Jeunes Chercheurs en Sciences Cognitives},
address = {Bordeaux, France},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier2004,
name = {The embodiment of cockroach behaviour in a micro-robot},
author = {Jost, Christian and Garnier, Simon and Jeanson, Raphaël and Gautrais, Jacques and Theraulaz, Guy},
url = {http://www.theswarmlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Jost-2004.pdf},
year = {2004},
date = {2004-03-23},
booktitle = {35th International
Symposium on Robotics},
address = {Paris, France},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier:COAD2013,
name = {Living Architectures},
author = {Garnier, Simon},
editor = {Burgermaster, Matthew A. and Russo, J. Rhett},
year = {2013},
date = {2013-03-06},
booktitle = {AIANJ Spring Symposium on Distributed Intelligence},
address = {Newark, NJ},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier2011c,
name = {Living architectures: bridge construction by army ants},
author = {Garnier, Simon},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-07-11},
booktitle = {Seminar at the Self-Organizing Systems Research
Group at Harvard University},
address = {Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier2010b,
name = {From biology to robotics, and back},
author = {Garnier, Simon},
year = {2010},
date = {2010-06-09},
booktitle = {Seminar at the School of Engineering & Science of the Stevens Institute
of Technology},
address = {Hoboken, New Jersey, USA},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier2007d,
name = {Collective Behaviour in Groups of Insect-like Robots},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Theraulaz, Guy},
year = {2007},
date = {2007-08-27},
booktitle = {Summer School on Collective Robotics
(EAIA'07)},
address = {Lisboa, Portugal},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier2007c,
name = {Déplacements collectifs dans les sociétés animales et humaines – Collective movements in animal and human societies},
author = {Garnier, Simon and Moussaïd, Mehdi},
year = {2007},
date = {2007-05-26},
booktitle = {Colloque sur les Systèmes Complexes en Sciences Humaines et Sociales},
address = {Cerisy-la- Salle, France},
}

@inproceedings{Garnier2004b,
name = {L'intelligence collective des sociétés d'insectes : une source d'inspiration pour le management de demain ? – Collective intelligence in insect societies: a source of inspiration for tomorrow's management?},
author = {Garnier, Simon},
year = {2004},
date = {2004-12-08},
booktitle = {Thales Annual Meeting on
Human Resources Management},
address = {Thales University, Jouy-en-Josas, France},
}