[ANTS 2026] Call for Late Breaking Results & Fresh Perspectives
Roderich Gross
Call for Late Breaking Results & Fresh Perspectives (posters, demos & more)
ANTS 2026 – 15th International Conference on Swarm Intelligence
June 8–10, 2026
darmstadtium – Science and Congress Center, Darmstadt, Germany
Important Dates
• Submission deadline: 30 March 2026
• Notification of acceptance: 13 April 2026
• Conference: 8–10 June 2026
The 2026 theme is "Reaching beyond – swarm intelligence across systems, disciplines, and communities."
Conference Scope
Since its inception in 1998, ANTS has been a leading forum for the field of 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.
In its 2026 edition, the ANTS conference 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.
Invited plenary talks
Guido de Croon (Delft University of Technology) - swarms of small autonomous drones
Sharon Glotzer (University of Michigan) - towards colloidal swarm robots
Jesús Gomez Gardeñes (University of Zaragoza) - from interaction structure to collective dynamics
Invited perspective talks
Meeyoung Cha (MPI for Security and Privacy & KAIST) - misinformation, social networks, and emerging AI-driven dynamics
Thomas Watteyne (Analog Devices) - low-power wireless technologies and swarms
Liam Young (SCI Arc) - new planetary imageries
Submissions
For this Late Breaking Results & Fresh Perspectives call, we welcome submissions from any branch of science or humanities (e.g. biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering, mathematics, philosophy, physics, performing arts, sociology, urban planning, visual arts and design, etc) as long as there is some relationship to collective behaviors or phenomena of self-organized systems, natural or artificial. We welcome both original contributions and those published recently (after the 2024 edition of ANTS).
What to submit?
An abstract (max. 2000 characters) describing the content of your Poster.
[Optional] A short description of a proposed Live Demo.
What happens at the conference?
All accepted submissions are included in the Late Breaking Results & Fresh Perspectives Poster Session (if applicable, supplemented with Live Demo).
A selection of accepted submissions from underrepresented disciplines (i.e., disciplines other than computer science and engineering) will also be invited to give Lightning Talks in the main auditorium to spark multidisciplinary discussion.
Please note:
Contributions to this call do not qualify as official publications and will not be included in the Springer Nature conference proceedings.
A registration to ANTS is required to present your contribution. We may offer a limited amount of discounted registrations, prioritizing among other things submissions from underrepresented areas.
Submit via https://ants2026.org
Venue
ANTS 2026 will be held for the first time in Darmstadt, Germany, at the darmstadtium – Science and Congress Center, hosted by Technical University of Darmstadt. The venue is within walking distance of the UNESCO World Heritage Mathildenhöhe, offering a unique blend of cutting-edge research and cultural heritage.
More information: https://ants2026.org
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General chair
Roderich Gross, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany
Honorary chair
Marco Dorigo, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
Late breaking results chairs
Anna Dornhaus, University of Arizona, USA
Mary Katherine Heinrich, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
Publicity chair
Razanne Abu-Aisheh, University of Bristol, UK