Before this study, researchers assumed ant bridges were

Movable bridges allow for colony to travel together at maximum speed

When army ants need to cross a large gap, they simply build a bridge - with their own bodies.

Linking together, the ants can move their living bridge from its original point, allowing them to cross gaps and create shortcuts across rainforests in Central and South America.

A team of international researchers found that these bridges will move until they break down because they are too big, and slow down traffic.

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When army ants need to cross a large gap, they simply build a bridge - with their own bodies. Linking together, the ants can move their living bridge from its original point, allowing them to cross gaps and create shortcuts across rainforests in Central and South America

THE BRIDGE THAT CAN WALK An international research team has found that 'ant bridges' are not static structures but move to suit the needs of the colony. Army ants lock their bodies together to create the bridges, assembling and disassembling in seconds. The bridge will stay in place until the crossing traffic slows, and the costs outweigh the benefits. Researchers say these behaviors may provide insight to automated swarm robotics, which can be used in exploration and rescue operations. Advertisement

Researchers hope that understanding the utilities of army ants will help them develop swarm robotics, for exploration and rescue operations by applying similar behaviors.

'After starting at intersections between twigs or lianas traveled by the ants, the bridges slowly move away from their starting point, creating shortcuts and progressively lengthening by addition of new workers, before stopping, suspended in mid-air,' said Dr Christopher Reid.

Read is co-lead author of the study, and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sydney's Insect Behaviour and Ecology Lab.

'In many cases, the ants could have created better shortcuts, but instead they ceased moving their bridges before achieving the shortest route possible.'

While moving to shorter distances would benefit the ants, the researchers found that the ants balanced this with the cost of labor, and staying put could allow workers to perform other tasks.

The international team includes researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, University of Konstanz, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Princeton University, and George Washington University.

Army ants, the researchers found, can change the position of their bridges as needed, and can assemble and disassemble in just seconds. Before this study, these ant bridges were assumed to be static structures

Army ants, the researchers found, can change the position of their bridges as needed, and can assemble and disassemble in just seconds.

Before this study, these ant bridges were assumed to be static structures.

Instead, the movable bridges optimize colony speed, and allow for the ants to traverse dangerous environments.

'Artificial systems made of independent robots operating via the same principles as the army ants could build large-scale structures as needed,' Dr Reid says.

'Such swarms could accomplish remarkable tasks, such as creating bridges to navigate complex terrain, plugs to repair structural breaches, or supports to stabilize a failing structure.'

The research may provide insight to self-assembling systems, like reconfigurable materials and autonomous robotic swarms.

'These systems could also enable robots to operate in complex unpredictable settings, such as in natural disaster areas, where human presence is dangerous or problematic.'

While moving to shorter distances would benefit the ants, the researchers found that the ants balanced this with the cost of labor, and staying put could allow workers to perform other tasks



