Comparison of shepherding control behaviors

Self-organized flocking behavior is often seen in nature in the form of flocks of sheep, herds of cow, fish schools, and swarms of insects. The shepherding problem is concerned with the control of such a group by a small number of guides and has useful applications. The present paper focuses on two unrelated control methods and the similarities between them. Based on these two control methods, we introduce a new hybrid control method. The effectiveness of all three control methods is considered based on success rate, speed, and dispersion of the group. The trajectories of the shepherds are also shown. The results for our proposed method help to improve understanding of effective control methods.