Nonreciprocal field theory for decision-making in multi-agent control systems.

ABSTRACT: Field theories for complex systems traditionally focus on collective behaviours emerging from simple, reciprocal pairwise interaction rules. However, many natural and artificial systems exhibit behaviours driven by microscopic decision-making processes that introduce both nonreciprocity and many-body interactions, challenging these conventional approaches. We develop a theoretical framework to incorporate decision-making into field theories using the shepherding problem from swarm robotics as a paradigmatic example of a multi-agent control system, where agents, the herders, must coordinate to confine another group of agents, the targets, within a prescribed region. By introducing continuous approximations of two key decision-making elements - target selection and trajectory planning - we d

SUBMITTER: Lama A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12474890 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature