Conference Scope
Since its inception in 1998, ANTS has been a highly selective, single-track meeting that provided a forum for discussing advances in the field of swarm intelligence. It solicits submissions presenting significant, original research from researchers and practitioners of any area related to swarm intelligence.
Swarm intelligence is an interdisciplinary and rapidly evolving field, rooted in the study of self-organizing processes in both natural and artificial systems. Researchers from disciplines ranging from ethology to statistical physics have developed models that explain collective phenomena, such as decision-making in social insect colonies and collective movements in human crowds. Swarm-inspired algorithms and methods have proven effective in solving complex optimization problems and creating multi-robot and networked systems of unparalleled resilience, adaptability and scalability. Applications of swarm intelligence continue to grow and become increasingly critical for addressing societal challenges such as environmental sustainability, food security, health, and global conflicts.
The 2026 edition’s theme is “reaching beyond – swarm intelligence across systems, disciplines, and communities”. The meeting seeks to encourage new perspectives, help bridge traditional boundaries and enable open debate on what could be ambitious, exploratory, and groundbreaking endeavors to embark on.
Relevant Research Areas
Papers are solicited in all areas of swarm intelligence, including, but not limited to:
Theoretical foundations of swarm intelligence and collective phenomena
Modeling and analysis of self-organizing systems in nature, including many-particle systems, cellular systems, insect colonies, bird flocks, and human crowds
Decision making in large groups e.g. consensus dynamics, mean-field games, social choice theory
Swarm robotics, including colloidal systems, micro-robots, drones, and other autonomous vehicles
Swarm optimization algorithms, including ACO, PSO, ABC
LLMs and GenAI-in-the-loop systems in combination with swarm intelligence
Large-scale distributed networks, such as smart dust, smart cities, or social networks
Robotic materials and modular robots capable of self-repair, self-assembly or shape-shifting
Distributed learning, coordination, and control in many-agent systems
Human-centered swarm intelligence and human-swarm interaction
Sustainable technologies for artificial and bio-hybrid swarms
Creative and expressive uses of swarm principles in art, design and education
Benchmarking and reproducibility in swarm intelligence research
Ethical and societal implications of applications of swarm intelligence research
Applications of swarm intelligence to real-world challenges
Important Dates
Submission deadline: November 10, 2025, 23:59:59 (AoE)
Notification of acceptance: January 30, 2026
Camera ready copy: February 13, 2026, 23:59:59 (AoE)
Conference: June 8-10, 2026