Similarity of Path Networks constructed by Pedestrians and Physarum Polycephalum

Abstract

The Physarum Polycephalum organism and the collective behavior of pedestrians are both able to construct minimal path networks. Models have been created of both concepts to simulate their individual network constructing behavior. This paper presents an implementation of a combined model, which simulates both the particle-based slime mold model and the Paths model. A qualitative analysis is conducted, which visually compares the networks constructed by the slime mold and the pedestrians. A measurement called “path coincidence” is introduced to measure the similarity of the constructed networks. This measurement is used to statistically support the results of the qualitative analysis. The results study the influences of four specific parameters. The visual comparison suggested that some of the parameters greatly affect the similarity in network construction. These results are supported by the statistical analysis, which found the same level of influence for each parameter. The experiment may provide some insight in the circumstances that affect the similarity of the path networks constructed by the particle-based Physarum Polycephalum model and the Paths model.