Collective motion is one of the most spectacular forms of collective behaviour. To better understand its main patterns, Prof. Tamás Vicsek and his team recorded tracks of pigeons, using miniature GPS-devices that were attached to the birds. It appeared that pigeons flying in a flock demonstrate a delicate collective decision making process. The team discovered a well-defined hierarchy among flock members, and the average spacial position of a pigeon within the flock strongly correlated with its place in this hierarchy.

Based on the hierarchy structures observed in the flocking of pigeons, the team, funded by the ERC, created an array of autonomous flying robots, each one equipped with a little ‘brain’. These helicopter-like quadcopter drones, propelled by four motors, were able to make decisions concerning direction, flight and positions entirely by themselves. When the drones were instructed to form a circle, for instance, they collectively decided which position each of them should take within that circle. In certain experiments, the team also introduced intelligent leaders into the flock of drones to mimic the hierarchy within pigeon flocks.

These autonomous drones will make possible a wide range of future applications. Hence, a self-organised flock of drones could function as a monitoring system to follow up on environmental and agricultural  changes. Moreover, a single person interacting - by means of simple commands - with the flock, opens a new dimension of human-machine cooperation.