Introduction to Swarm Intelligence

Abstract

Swarm intelligence is regarded as the integration of mechanisms from computer science, the artificial intelligence, and biology. Over millions of years, biological systems have solved complex problems by sharing information among group members. By carefully studying underlying individual behaviors and combining behavioral observations with mathematical modelling or simulation we can now understand the underlying mechanisms of collective behavior in biological systems. The objective of this chapter is to understand the foundations of swarm intelligence along with various concepts like metaheuristics, swarm, and technical terms such as collective intelligence, adaptability, and Diversity. The chapter will also enable researchers to understand various issues concerning swarm intelligence and also concludes with an overview of swarm robotics – an interesting side of intelligent robotics of the future.