Computational and Structural Advantages of Pairwise Flocking

Biologists have shown that certain species of birds flock in groups at least partially composed of pairs, believed to be stable mate pairs. In this paper we consider synthetic flocks containing pairs, and show that this structure can be used to reduce paired agents' tracking workloads by approximately half, while also providing a more stable flock despite the fewer tracking interactions. We suggest this could be useful for constructing robust, real-world flocking systems.