1. Order parameters as a function of time for different vflock values during real experiments with 30 drones.
Order parameters as a function of time for different vflock values during real experiments with 30 drones. ϕcorr is the cluster-dependent velocity correlation, ϕvel/vflock is the average normalized velocity, and represents the average of the closest neighbors, whereas min(rij) is the minimum of the closest neighbors. The depicted region corresponds to the middle 5 min of Fig. 4. There are two typical, mostly stable behaviors in a square-shaped arena without obstacles: (A) shows mostly linear motion along the main diagonals with a cyclic expansion and shrinking of the flock (cyclic red and orange curves) and sudden turns at corners (blue and green curves dropping to zero), whereas (C) shows circular motion within the boundaries (nearly constant order parameters at all times). (B) The repetitive, trivial patterns were broken and became livelier due to obstacles in the way. Correspondingly, velocity correlation and average velocity magnitude drops, whereas minimal interagent distance remains the same, showing the stability of the flight even in this obstructed case.
Gábor Vásárhelyi et al. Sci. Robotics 2018;3:eaat3536
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