New conceptual ideas on network architectures have been proposed in the recent past. Current store-andforward
routers are replaced by active intermediate systems,
which are able to perform computations on transient packets,
in a way that results very helpful for developing and
deploying new protocols in a short time. This paper introduces a new routing algorithm, based on a congestion
metric, and inspired by the behavior of ants in nature. The
use of the Active Networks paradigm associated with a cooperative learning environment produces a robust, decentralized algorithm capable of adapting quickly to changing conditions
