Invasive ants are a huge problem in Australia, but a classic computer game could help solve it (Age of Empires 2)
Invasive ants are a huge problem in Australia, but a classic computer game could help solve it (Age of Empires 2)
Scientists use Age of Empires to simulate ant warfare, with the aim of helping native ant species better fight their invasive counterparts.
In short, the pathing of units in AoE2 is primitive enough that it seemingly mimics the way ants move, giving them opertunities to test models in the game before trying it on real ants. That's pretty neat. Someone, please make these guys an ant mod for the game
Instructions unclear made a mod based off the movie Antz
Scientists are stunned as they learn of ants forming a wrecking ball
I am not disappointed in you at all
TL;DR: They are wololoing at the ants to convert them and send them away.
A Shelby Cobra should be enough to stop them
With rockets, was it?
If I remember correctly it rapid fired bullets
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A computer game once given away in kids' cereal boxes is helping Australia eradicate an invasive ant species.
Using the game, the research team built armies and battlegrounds of different sizes and shapes and watched them fight, then mapped the results.
The armies created in the game behaved in a simple, predicable and quantifiable way, allowing mathematical models of warfare to emerge.
The researchers then conducted laboratory experiments with ants and compared the models to the "messy" real-world examples, using actual animals that behaved unpredictably.
Despite the challenges, Dr Booth said Australia has established itself as a world leader in invasive ant eradication.
But she said improving biosecurity measures to stop them arriving was still important, as well as investing in research to better understand ant invasions and develop new methods for detecting and controlling them.
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