Optimize Time and Distance via Errors in Pheromone Sensing

The big headed ant (Pheidole megacephala) is a social insect in the southern United States. The big headed ant’s optimized sensing error allows for quickly and efficiently maintaining access to the highest quality food even when the food source changes. Both the time to find and the distance of a path are optimized. The communication of this information is self-organized via sensing and responding to pheromone trails. Error in sensing and responding helps the big headed ant adapt more quickly than other ant species, which tend to lock onto a food source despite better choices.

Longer version based on the Awe-Inspire-Act texts:

The big headed ant is a social insect in the southern United States. The big headed ant’s optimized sensing error allows for quickly and efficiently maintaining access to the highest quality food even when the food source changes. Both the time to find and the distance of a path are optimized. The communication of this information is self-organized via sensing and responding to pheromone trails. Error in sensing and responding helps the big headed ant adapt more quickly than other ant species, which tend to lock onto a food source despite better choices. This strategy is an inspiration for potential application ideas for serve navigation algorithms, driver access to resources organization and decision-making optimization systems.