What to expect

This book is used during the Boiding workshop. It allows you to explore Craig Reynold's boids that simulate flocking behavior of animals such as fish and birds.

But this is not a passive workshop! You get to explore the simulation by building it! We provide you with the background to understand the algorithm and a platform to explore it.

You will be implementing the brain of your own species of boids and see them flock on the big screen.

Cover Image

The image on the cover of this book is taken from the following tweet.

Perfectly timed picture captures the moment a murmuration of starlings took the form of a giant BIRD. pic.twitter.com/YwWwLX2ZLh

— Karen (@KLovesNature) January 2, 2018

Outline

Below we give an outline of the chapters to come.

In the background chapter we will illustrate the key ideas of Craig Reynolds algorithm. This is a mathematical description of the behavior of the boids.

The plan chapter provides an overview of the workshop. What your role as a participant is, what you can expect of the platform you will be communicating with, and tips and tricks how to have the most fun.

The last two chapters are divided between the web server you will be creating and how you can implement the web server to act as the brain of your boids.