It is, however, fair to say that very few applications of swarm intelligence. One of the main reasons for this relative lack of success resides in the fact that swarm intelligent systems are hard to "program," because the path to problem solving are not predefined but emergent in these systems and result from interaction among individuals and between individuals and their environment.
Bonabeau,
Dorigo, Theraulaz, Swarm
Intelligence From Natural to Artificial
Systems, Page
7.
Swarm
Intelligence,
disagrees and says that on the contrary swarm agents
are easy
to
program. It argues that complex behaviours arise from
simple rules that are not difficult to programs.
Swarms are used to test for the onset of Parkinson's
disease. The tremors brought on by the disease are rhythmic
and sinusoidal; this mathematical nature lends itself well
to automated detection. Using accelerometer and tabulating
data, swarms can be used in the diagnosis.
This is backed up by an impressive array of applications of
swarm systems:
Evolving
Neural Networks
Neural
networks have been seen to be adept in genetic algorithms
and mapping input patterns to outputs in diagnostic
situations. Optimisation is a good use for swarms in
general as well as specifically scheduling systems.
Human
Tremor Analysis
Swarms
are used to test for the onset of Parkinson's disease. The
tremors brought on by the disease are rhythmic and
sinusoidal; this mathematical nature lends itself well to
automated detection. Using accelerometer and tabulating
data, swarms can be used in the diagnosis.
Battery
Pack State-of-Charge Estimation
As more
vehicles become electrically powered accurate methods of
measuring remaining power are as important as an accurate
petrol gauge. Using several inputs (current, ampere hours,
battery temperature, etc.) and a three-layered neural
network a swarm was trained into providing a good estimate
of remaining battery life.
Optimisations
Applications
Computer Numerically Controlled Milling Operation
Ingredient Mix Optimisation
Reactive Power and Voltage Control
Source: Swarm
Intelligence, Chapter
9. Pages 369-392.