Researchers are investigating how animals behave in swarms. Their findings are being applied to robotics, logistics and new models of participation — and are opening up new perspectives for business and democracy. The "Imaging Hangar" at the Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behavior (CASAB) at the University of Konstanz is a 225-square-metre hall equipped with cameras, sensors and a 3D environment — one of the largest swarm research laboratories in the world. "Not all swarms are driven by the same motivation,” explains Iain Couzin, Director of the Institute of Behavioral Biology and spokesperson for CASAB. One of his surprising findings: "Locusts flee out of fear of being eaten by their own kind." The "Artificial Life Lab" in Graz offers deep insights into the life of the queen bee.