Many animals form swarms or flocks - starlings, bees,
locusts and ants are just a few of the four examples I can
think of.
On an apparently unrelated note, it is possible to build
battery-powered ion guns which will spray out either
positive or negative ions, leaving themselves (and
whatever
they are attached to) with a net negative or
positive charge, respectively.
What I propose (for reasons which will become apparent in
the fullness of due course*), is to fit each member of a
flock or swarm with such an ion gun. Half the members of
the flock will carry guns of one polarity, half the other.
The result will be a flock (or swarm) consisting of
individuals with two different net charges.
If two individuals of the same charge approach eachother,
they will experience a slight repulsion. But if two
individuals of opposite charge get too close, they will
experience a short, painful zap as the charge sparks
between them.
After a learning phase, this should result in entirely new
flock dynamics, designed to minimize the frequency of
zapping.
*not yet.