Biomimicry
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Bee-Inspired Algorithm Helps Delivery Companies Plan The Most Efficient Route

Bee-Inspired Algorithm Helps Delivery Companies Plan The Most Efficient Route | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

"For a delivery truck making rounds, minor tweaks in a route can save huge amounts of time and gas. That's why UPS spent a decade and hundreds of millions of dollars building an algorithm to help calculate where trucks should turn. A startup called Routific designed an algorithm to help everyone else—like local flower delivery companies—also save fuel.  To help find the best routes, they took inspiration from bees. Their algorithm is based on the "bees algorithm," which describes how bees find the best route to flowers. Scout bees fly long distances in random directions, and if they find food, they fly back and buzz around in the so-called "waggle dance" to notify everyone else. When others go to the same location, they'll come back and waggle even harder if they find a better spot."



Photo details: Apis mellifera by Muhammad Mahdi Karim (www.micro2macro.net) Facebook Youtube), GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons

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Army Ants Act Like Algorithms to Make Deliveries More Efficient

Army Ants Act Like Algorithms to Make Deliveries More Efficient | Biomimicry | Scoop.it

"To optimize its delivery drones, maybe Amazon could take inspiration from the actual Amazon. Army ants in Central and South America aggressively seek out the shortest path over the forest floor to bring home enough food and ensure the future of their colony. This focus on efficiency led the insects to develop a clever trick: They link their bodies together to fill potholes and build living bridges. As more ants join in, the bridges shift locations to span larger and larger gaps, shortening the path ants have to take when carrying food back to the nest. But because each brick in the bridge is also a lost forager, the ants reach a point where a slightly better shortcut just isn’t worth the cost, according to new analysis of this insect construction work."

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