Swarm

Swarm visualises an ant colony optimization algorithm.

Ant colony optimization algorithms on wikipedia :

"In computer science and operations research, the ant colony optimization algorithm (ACO) is a probabilistic technique for solving computational problems which can be reduced to finding good paths through graphs."

The program allows you to adjust various values like the pheromone emission and decay. Graphs can be generated randomly which also can be viewed as a nice landscape simulation next to an anthill.

There are downloads for different platforms (Windows, HMTL5 and Android).

Very small resolutions (400x300) are supported, so old devices with small displays can be used, too.

Screenshots

Controlls / Shortcuts:

Buttons	Effect
F1	Show/hide explanation.
F5	Save current graph.
F6	Load graph if one was stored before.
F11	Change window size (and resolution).
Space / M	Show/hide menue.
1	Change language (English, German).
A	Create apple at node nearest to the cursor.
G / I	Switch view of graph.
K	Kill all ants.
L	Delete all pheromone values (at the edges).
P	Show/hide pheromon trails/values.
R	Reset all values and restore default settings.
Backspace	Generate new random graph.
Arrow-Key Up	Increase number of ants.
Arrow-Key Down	Decrease number of ants.
Mouse Wheel Up	Increase Room-Speed -> framerate.
Mouse Wheel Down	Decrease Room-Speed -> framerate.
Ctrl + Mouse Wheel Up	Increase moving speed of ants.
Ctrl + Mouse Wheel Down	Decrease moving speed of ants.
Right Mouse Button (hold)	Drag ants and apples.
ESC	Close info / quit program.