Forming nested 3D structures based on the Brazil nut effect

S Foster and R Groß

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We study a simple algorithm inspired by the Brazil nut effect for achieving segregation in a swarm of 3D agents.

The algorithm lets each agent mimic a particle of a certain size. The segregation task requires the swarm to self-organise into a spatial arrangement in which the agents are ranked by particle size (distance to centre).

We show that the mean percentage of errors in rank decreases as the particles' size ratio increases.

Simulation of three groups of agents:

  • 200 agents of size 0.05
  • 100 agents of size 0.15
  • 50 agents of size 0.45

View the experiment video.

Simulation of three groups of agents:

  • 200 agents of size 0.1
  • 100 agents of size 0.2
  • 50 agents of size 0.4

View the experiment video.

1. S. Foster and R. Groß, Forming nested 3D structures based on the Brazil nut effect. Extended Abstract submitted to TAROS 2011 

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Natural Robotics Lab: investigating robotic systems inspired by nature, and robotic models of natural systems.

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