Swarm Intelligence

5 ECTS credits
125 h study time

Offer 1 with catalog number 4014868FNR for all students in the 2nd semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.

Semester

2nd semester

Enrollment based on exam contract

Impossible

Grading method

Grading (scale from 0 to 20)

Can retake in second session

Yes

Taught in

English

Partnership Agreement

Under agreement for exchange of courses

Faculty

Faculty of Science and Bio-engineering Sciences

Department

Computer Science

External partners

Université libre de Bruxelles

Educational team

Decaan WE (course titular)

External teachers

Marco Dorigo

Activities and contact hours

26 contact hours Lecture
13 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
13 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study

Course Content

Swarm intelligence is the discipline that deals with natural and artificial systems composed of many individuals that coordinate using decentralized control and self-organization. In particular, the discipline focuses on the collective behaviors that result from the local interactions of the individuals with each other and with their environment. Examples of systems studied by swarm intelligence are colonies of ants and termites, schools of fish, flocks of birds, herds of land animals. Some human artifacts also fall into the domain of swarm intelligence, notably some multi-robot systems, and also certain computer programs that are written to tackle optimization and data analysis problems. The course will present a number of swarm intelligence systems and will give the opportunity to experiment with them.

Detailed contents:

-Introduction to Swarm Intelligence

-The TSP solved using ACO

-ACO algorithms

-Introduction to Swarm Robotics

-Division of labour and task allocation

-Fault detection in swarm robotics

-Swarm robotics material

Course material

Handbook (Recommended) : Ant Colony Optimization, Dorigo M. & T. Stuetzle, MA: MIT Press/Bradford Books, 9780262042192, 2004
Handbook (Recommended) : Swarm Intelligence: From Natural to Artificial Systems, From Natural to Artificial Systems, Bonabeau E., M. Dorigo & G. Theraulaz, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 9780195131598, 1999

Additional info

ULB course

Learning Outcomes

Algemene competenties

students has a basic understanding of swarm intelligence principles

Grading

The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 50% of the final mark.
Other Exam determines 50% of the final mark.

Within the Oral Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

oral examination with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:

Project with a relative weight of 1 which comprises 50% of the final mark.

Additional info regarding evaluation

The exam is divided in two parts:

-Project: The student picks a project among the proposed assignments. Following deliverables are required:

*the code you implemented in digital format

* a short document (4 to 6 pages) written in English that describes your work. You have to explain

both the idea and the implementation of your solution

In addition, you will present your work in a 10-minute talk, followed by 5 minutes of questions. This will account

for 50% of the ﬁnal grade.

-Questions: You will be asked questions concerning the topics that you have not covered with your project. This will account for 50% of your ﬁnal grade.

Allowed unsatisfactory mark

The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.

Academic context