Is this project an undergraduate, graduate, or faculty project?
Undergraduate
Project Type
individual
Campus
Daytona Beach
Authors' Class Standing
Ava Neubert, Junior
Lead Presenter's Name
Ava Neubert
Lead Presenter's College
DB College of Engineering
Faculty Mentor Name
Dr. Bryan Watson
Abstract
Understanding how physical constraints influence collective behavior is critical for designing cyber-physical multi-agent systems in communication-limited environments. This project investigates how agent mobility and communication constraints affect opinion dynamics in a three-dimensional underwater swarm. An agent-based model was developed in AnyLogic, where agents follow realistic motion dynamics and exchange information at discrete communication intervals to reflect underwater limitations. Agent opinions are modeled using a BOIDS-inspired consensus mechanism in RGB space, allowing visualization of convergence behavior. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of communication range, agent speed, turn rate, and swarm size. Results show that communication range has the strongest impact on convergence, with diminishing returns beyond moderate distances. Agent speed and turn rate influence how often agents remain within communication range, creating mobility-driven thresholds that either promote or inhibit consensus. In contrast, increasing swarm size produces only gradual improvements. These findings highlight that collective behavior in cyber-physical swarms is driven by the interaction between physical motion and intermittent communication, emphasizing the need to incorporate physical constraints into system design and trade-space analysis.
Did this research project receive funding support (Spark, SURF, Research Abroad, Student Internal Grants, Collaborative, Climbing, or Ignite Grants) from the Office of Undergraduate Research?
No
Included in
Multi-Vehicle Systems and Air Traffic Control Commons, Robotics Commons, Systems Engineering and Multidisciplinary Design Optimization Commons
Interplay between Physical Design Choices and Emergent Cyber System Consensus: A Case Study with an Underwater Swarm
Understanding how physical constraints influence collective behavior is critical for designing cyber-physical multi-agent systems in communication-limited environments. This project investigates how agent mobility and communication constraints affect opinion dynamics in a three-dimensional underwater swarm. An agent-based model was developed in AnyLogic, where agents follow realistic motion dynamics and exchange information at discrete communication intervals to reflect underwater limitations. Agent opinions are modeled using a BOIDS-inspired consensus mechanism in RGB space, allowing visualization of convergence behavior. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of communication range, agent speed, turn rate, and swarm size. Results show that communication range has the strongest impact on convergence, with diminishing returns beyond moderate distances. Agent speed and turn rate influence how often agents remain within communication range, creating mobility-driven thresholds that either promote or inhibit consensus. In contrast, increasing swarm size produces only gradual improvements. These findings highlight that collective behavior in cyber-physical swarms is driven by the interaction between physical motion and intermittent communication, emphasizing the need to incorporate physical constraints into system design and trade-space analysis.