Scientists train goldfish to drive a fish-operated vehicle on land - Ars Technica
( January 4, 2022; Ars Technica )
Description: "The fish learned to operate a fish tank on wheels."
Six fish took part in the experiment and were taught to drive in 30-minute sessions, conducted three times a week, every two days. To begin with, the fish were given a reward if they navigated to a target (a pink corrugated board) from the center of the enclosure.
The fish did indeed learn to drive the FOV, becoming more proficient in its operation over time both in terms of achieving tasks (navigating to a target) and in the time taken to complete that task. The authors wanted to check that the fish weren't just memorizing a set of movements to earn a reward, so they repeated some tests with a new starting position inside the enclosure or added decoy targets that were a different color.
The study, From fish out of water to new insights on navigation mechanisms in animals, was published in the Februray, 2022 issue of Behavioural Brain Research. The findings suggest that the fish maintain an internal map of the external world, including the terrestrial world outside of their enclosure.
I couldn't find any videos of the current research, but here is a 2019 video of a previous initiative with a goldfish driving its own fish tank.
Read the rest from Ars Technica: Scientists train goldfish to drive a fish-operated vehicle on land
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Interesting! I was wondering mostly about the vehicle. Fish were placed into a tank that rested on a mobile platform. The tank had a small volume of water in order to restrict water movement as the platform moved.
It seems that there was a camera mounted above, and a computer (a Raspberry Pi) could analyze both the orientation and location of the fish. As you would expect, when a fish faced outward and neared a boundary, the platform would move in that direction. When the fish was facing inward, or in the middle of the tank, no movement was created.
I have a Raspberry Pi, and I need to think of my first use of it. I wonder if my boys would like a goldfish. = )
This video is very interesting, that means that the fish not only observes inside the tank but also what is outside, I did not know that they had those qualities.
.Interesting article and especially about the fact that "fish maintain an internal map of the external world, including the terrestrial world outside their enclosure"...Creation never ceases to amaze us. Blessings.
I'm a little skeptical about how accurate their map of the external world might be. The article suggested that there's a fairly high degree of accuracy because the fish navigated to the target from multiple angles. It might be interesting to see if they could navigate to a target from a specific angle to test that theory.
This is the proof that how much science has been forwarded. I am sure that if I tell about this to some people from my village they don't believe it. Because they think such kind of things can't be happened. But it is the reality that science has proved it.
Very interesting research. We knew that fish have a bad memory. Their navigation looks amazing.
Good memory it seems, actually.
lol a google search of "domain transfer methodology" led, of course, to a list of advertisements about web hosting. I'll have to add research keywords or something next time!
Ah, from the paper, now I searched for "Fish Operated Vehicle".
Apparently, this has been possible since 2014 or before.
How intellectually advance does it feel when a news like fishes are driving no matter how and in what condition!?
Right! I honestly thought it might be a hoax when I clicked on the headline.
Wow, Great Video..
In nature there are many things that the human being still does not know, it is advisable to study it, understand it in order to be able to live in harmony and balance.
It is a very nice way of teaching the experiment so to speak.