Task Allocation and Information Sharing Strategies: A Study of Collective Decision-Making in Ant Colonies

This thesis explores the intricacies of task allocation in ant colonies, a prime example of de- centralized optimization and control in the natural world. Ants exemplify emergent decision- making without centralized control, leveraging simple interactions to address complex collective tasks. This study delves into how ants, despite limited individual information, achieve efficient labor distribution across critical functions. Besides, our research also translates these biological insights into computational models, aiming to enhance multi-agent system algorithms.