Have you ever wondered how a farmer and a single sheep dog can herd sheep? A recent paper in
Journal of the Royal Society Interface explains just how. Using GPS data from collars researchers have developed a computational model which "reproduces key features of empirical data collected from sheep–dog interaction". The model has two simple rules:
"The first rule: The sheepdog learns how to make the sheep come together in a flock. The second rule: Whenever the sheep are in a tightly knit group, the dog pushes them forwards." (
BBC)
The movie below (which accompanies the paper) shows some simulation runs with different numbers of agents. The shepherd (blue) approaches and rounds up the agents/sheep (black dots) and then proceed to herd the group toward the target.
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