Colloquia

From collective animal behaviour to collective motion of football teams

I will start by talking about a wide range of studies of collective motion and decision-making of fish, birds and insects. Through detailed tracking and modelling of how individuals interact in groups, we can understand why group-living has evolved. Recently, we have produced models that pass a ‘fish Turing test’, so the modelled behaviour of fish is more or less indistinguishable from movement of real fish. I go on to look at similar studies of movement and strategy of football teams. Through detailed tracking of players’ passing and shooting, we can reveal the answers to the true mysteries of life, such as how Sweden got to the quarter finals of the World Cup.