Ants Lead the Way for Madrid Search Engine
June 14, 2012
Science Daily announces a new “Search Engine for Social Networks Based on the Behavior of Ants.” Only one problem– A company called NuTech Solutions offered this method a decade ago. Does the fast pace of the tech world make for poor memories?
According to the article, this latest ant-based solution from Madrid’s Carlos III University likens the way ants search for food to the search for relationships of elements in social networks. The resulting algorithm, known as SoSACO, aims to improve results time even as networks grow in size. The write up informs us:
“The way SoSACO works was inspired by behavior that has been perfected over thousands of years by one of the most disciplined insects on the planet when they search for food. In general, the algorithms used by colonies of ants imitate how they are capable of finding the path between the anthill and the source of food by secreting and following a chemical trail, called a pheromone, which is deposited on the ground.”
How exactly the pheromone trail method has been translated into a social media algorithm is not explained, but we can’t expect the team to give away all their secrets. The article does say that SoSACO allows systems to find routes more easily without modifying the graph structure. It also informs us that researchers expect the algorithm could be useful in other applications, like planning freight delivery routes or seeing whether two words are related.
Ah, but can the algorithm carry twenty times its weight? If not, I’m afraid the ants still have it beat.
Cynthia Murrell, June 14, 2012
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