Munish Sood
MANDI: Why do birds fly in flocks, fish swim in schools, or humans often move in sync without any leader? Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mandi may have found a groundbreaking answer through quantum-inspired science.
A research team led by Prof Laxmidhar Behera, along with Dr Jyotiranjan Beuria and Mayank Chaurasiya, recently published their study in the prestigious Proceedings of the Royal Society A (2025). Their work introduces a new mathematical framework explaining how coordination naturally emerges in groups, even under uncertain or noisy conditions.
Traditional models of group behaviour, such as the well-known Vicsek model, suggest individuals align their movements based on their neighbours’ direction. While effective in simple situations, these models often struggle to explain complex real-world dynamics, like delayed responses or ambiguous information.
The IIT-Mandi team took a different approach: drawing inspiration from quantum mechanics, they propose that each individual’s perception exists in multiple possibilities simultaneously — similar to how a quantum particle can be in many states until observed. Coordination arises as these possibilities gradually settle, producing collective order without a central leader.
Prof Behera, Director of IIT-Mandi, explained, “Quantum-inspired ideas can provide fresh insight into one of nature’s oldest mysteries: how collective order emerges from local perception. This has implications for understanding the mind, the brain, and for designing intelligent systems.”
The team introduced two new measures: perception strength, showing how strongly individuals align their perceptions, and perceptual energy, indicating the stability of shared perception. Together, these tools allow scientists to quantify group coordination even in noisy or incomplete situations. Interestingly, classical flocking models are now seen as special cases within this broader, perception-driven framework.
The study has wide-reaching applications:
• Biology: It offers new insights into how animal groups maintain cohesion under disturbances, emphasizing the role of perception alongside physical interactions.
• Robotics: Swarm robotics, including drones for search-and-rescue or environmental monitoring, could adopt quantum-inspired perception for better coordination and flexibility.
• Neuroscience and psychology: The framework mirrors human perception, which often involves ambiguity, sudden switches, and context-dependent decisions.
• Artificial Intelligence: Future AI systems could handle uncertainty more robustly, avoiding premature decisions in complex or incomplete situations.
By bridging physics, biology, and engineering, the IIT-Mandi study presents a unifying framework for understanding coordination in nature and machines, opening doors to smarter robotics, deeper insights into cognition, and innovative AI applications.
