Ant Colony Pheromones

Stigmergic trail reinforcement — shortest path emergence
Ants: 0
Best path: —
Trips: 0
60
4
5%
15%
Ant colony optimization (Dorigo 1992): ants deposit pheromone proportional to food reward. Shorter paths accumulate stronger trails faster (≈ 1/length reinforcement). Probability of choosing path i: P_i = τᵢᵃ / Σ τⱼᵃ (α = pheromone weight). Pheromone evaporates at rate ρ, preventing premature convergence. Click canvas to place food sources.