Virtual Ethology: Simulation of Aquatic Animal Heterogeneous Behaviours as Particle-Based Autonomous Agents

Abstract

In the virtual world, the simulation of flocking behaviour has been actively investigated since the 1980 through the boid models. However, ethology is a niche study of animal behaviour from the biological perspective that is rarely instil in the interest of the younger learners nowadays. The keystone of the research is to be able to disseminate the study of animal behaviours through the boid model with the aid of technology. Through the simulation, complex movement of animal behaviours are reproduced based on the extension of basic behaviours of boid algorithm. The techniques here are to (i) Analyse a high-level behavioural framework of motion in the animal behaviours and (ii) Evolves particles to other animal representations to portray more real-time examples of steering behaviours. Although the generality of the results is limited by the number of case study, it also supports the hypothesis that interactive simulation system of virtual ethology can aid the improvement of animal studies