What does this simulation show?

A top-down flock of emus uses boids-style cohesion, alignment and separation rules while a goal-seeking force steers them along a shuttle route between two desert waterholes.

What do the Heat and Orientation sliders control?

Heat raises cruising speed but weakens cohesion and adds turbulent wander. Orientation strengthens the pull toward the target waterhole and damps that turbulence, producing a straighter route.

How is route progress measured?

The flock's average speed is integrated over time and converted to kilometers, so the counter keeps climbing as the group shuttles between waterholes.

Home▸Animals & Their World▸Emu Desert Navigation Lab (2D)

Emu Desert Navigation Lab (2D)

2D top-down emu-flock boids lab: a group navigates a shuttle route between two desert waterholes, heat disperses cohesion and adds turbulence, and orientation skill steers the flock back onto a straight course.

Animals & Their World2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version

This 2D companion pulls the emu flock's navigation mechanic out of its 3D semi-desert scene into a plain top-down view built for reading the route rather than orbiting a landscape: a boids algorithm (cohesion, alignment and separation) keeps the group together while a goal-seeking force shuttles it back and forth between two waterholes. The Heat slider raises cruising speed but weakens cohesion and adds turbulent wander, and the Orientation slider strengthens the pull toward the target waterhole and damps that turbulence — so a well-oriented flock in cool conditions holds a tight, near-straight line, while a hot, poorly-oriented one scatters and wanders off course. Click the field to drop a fresh waterhole and watch the flock retarget.

⚙ Under the hood

2D top-down emu boids lab with cohesion/alignment/separation flocking, a goal-seeking shuttle route between two waterholes, and heat/orientation parameters that trade cohesion and route straightness against each other.

emuboidsflockingnavigationdesertroute finding

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install