Ants should be behind the wheel of our cars

William Atkins
Tuesday, 18 November 2008 19:47

Science - Energy

In other words, the researchers used a computer model to create complex ant networks to simulate routes of different lengths and widths. Then, they analyzed the actions of the ants after having to contend with getting from one point (nest) to another (food) and then back to the original point (nest).

The researchers discovered that when congestion occurred along one path, the ants would re-direct their travels to another path.

Even though the distance was greater, they always made it to their destination in a quick and efficient manner.

According to the New Scientist article “Ants know how to keep traffic flowing,” “If humans drivers travelling in opposite directions could pass congestion information to each other in this way, we would all be better off.” [November 8-14, 2008, page 17]

Although seemingly very simple, why can’t humans do this in traffic? We can, but so far we haven’t.

We do have cell phones. We have sensors and videos on highways. We have overhead signs over highways. We have radio stations (which could be used to re-direct traffic). We have police patrolling our roads.

We have all we need to set up an effective way to re-direct traffic when congestion gets backed up.

However, so far we just sit in traffic, burning precious gasoline and wasting time. You would think with brains much larger than ants, we could come up with a solution to our traffic problems.

The least we could do would be to roll down the window and yell "Congestion ahead, find another route!"

For more information on human traffic congestion (any ants reading this can ignore it), please read the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), U.S. Department of Transportation, article “Operational Solutions to Traffic Congestion.”

A more comprehensive report by the FHWA follows in the article “Traffic Congestion and Reliability: Trends and Advanced Strategies for Congestion Mitigation.”