The Algorithms Behind Drone Swarms
Drones can be taught to fly in well-cordinated swarms, like a flock of birds or a school of fish. We see this in the Iran and Ukraine wars where drone attacks are in swarms and air defence cannotcope with such a large number. So even if a few get through , its enough to cause extensive damage. Furthermore, drones cost as little as $20,000 each whereas a Tomahawk or Patriot missile used for shooting them down cost a few million dollars each. See the video below, which was created using the latest Anthropic Claude Fable 5 model. Basically, the drones were driven by two algorithms: (1) The Hungarian Algorithm invented by Harold Kuhn for getting each drone to its target position in the Swarm and (2) The PD (Proportional Derivative) algorithm invented by Elmer Sperry to regulate the speed of the drone as it approaches its target position. Additionally, each drone constantly checks its position in the swarm in relation to its nearest neighboring drones -like what Geese do on their m...