We are hosting ANTS 2026 in Darmstadt

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.

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. 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.

Please save the date and join us in creating an inspiring conference that features plenaries (e.g. Sharon Glotzer, Tamás Vicsek), regular talks, poster presentations, live demonstrations and more.

Formal calls for submissions and participation will follow soon.

For any queries, please contact the organisation team by emailing
ants2026@rcps.tu-…

We look forward to your contribution to ANTS 2026!

Submission deadline: Nov 10, 2025
Notification deadline: Jan 30, 2026
Conference dates: June 8-10, 2026
Location: Darmstadtium – Science and Congress Center, Darmstadt, Germany
Website: http://ants2026.org
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/ants2026.bsky.social
LinkedIn: ANTS Conferences

General chair:
Roderich Gross, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany

Honorary chair:
Marco Dorigo, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium

Technical program chairs:
Aaron T. Becker, University of Houston, USA
Gianni Di Caro, Carnegie Mellon University, Qatar
Bahar Haghighat, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
M. Ani Hsieh, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Publicity chair:
Razanne Abu-Aisheh, University of Bristol, UK

Publication chair:
Mohamed Salah Talamali, The University of Sheffield, UK

Local organisation committee:
Usama Ali, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany
Uta Drews, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany
Ecem Isildar, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany
Jenny von Trzebiatowski, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany

Paper submission chair:
Julian Rau, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany

Steering committee:
Marco Dorigo, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
Andries Engelbrecht, Stellenbosch University, South Africa
Heiko Hamann, University of Konstanz, Germany
Alcherio Martinoli, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
Radhika Nagpal, Princeton University, USA
Thomas Stützle, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
Guy Theraulaz, CNRS CRCA, France