Israeli Researchers Teach Goldfish to Drive Robotic Car
2022-01-17
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1Israeli researchers say they have successfully taught a goldfish to drive a small, robotic car.
2The team said the fish showed its ability to navigate toward a target in order to receive a food reward.
3For the experiment, the researchers built what they called a Fish Operated Vehicle (FOV).
4The main part of the vehicle was a fish tank attached to a moving machine with four motorized wheels.
5Attached to the top was a system used to follow all movements of the fish and vehicle.
6The system was operated by lidar, a technology that uses light lasers to map environments and measure distances.
7When the system observed that the fish was up against the side of the glass while facing forward, it would move the vehicle forward in that direction.
8The researchers said that over time, the fish learned that putting itself in these positions would move the FOV in those directions.
9In this way, the fish was able to "drive" the vehicle.
10A team at Israel's Ben-Gurion University of the Negev carried out the research.
11Results of the experiment were recently reported in the publication Behavioral Brain Research.
12Researcher Shachar Givon told the Reuters news agency it was surprising how quickly the fish learned to drive the vehicle.
13"They're confused at first - they don't know what's going on," he said.
14"But they're very quick to realize that there is a correlation between their movement and the movement of the machine that they're in."
15The team used six different goldfish in the study.
16Each fish took part in about 10 driving exercises.
17A colorful target was clearly marked on a wall opposite the tank.
18Each time a fish reached a target, it was rewarded with food.
19The researchers said the fish were able to navigate to the target even if something happened to temporarily take them off the path.
20And, they said, the fish were not fooled by false targets placed by the team.
21Researcher Ronen Segev said some of the fish proved to be "excellent" drivers.
22Others, he said, showed that while they could control the vehicle, they were not very good at driving it.
23The team reported that their experiment led to two main findings.
24The first was that "navigational ability is universal rather than specific to the environment," researcher Givon said in a statement.
25Secondly, the experiment showed that goldfish have the "cognitive ability" to learn to perform a complex operation "in an environment completely unlike the one they evolved in."
26Givon compared the experiment to a human first learning to ride a bicycle or drive a car.
27 In both of those cases, the beginning can be difficult, he said.
28A description of the study noted that navigation is a "critical ability" for animal survival.
29Such an ability permits many kinds of creatures to find shelter, seek mates and be successful in many kinds of behaviors.
30In this case, the researchers sought to find out whether the fish could use the same navigational skills they use in the water to move a vehicle traveling on land.
31In the end, the team found the results demonstrated that a fish is able to keep its "space representation and navigation skills" when put into a completely "terrestrial," or land-based, environment.
32Researcher Ronen Segev said,
33"We humans think of ourselves as very special. And many think of fish as primitive, but this is not correct."
34He added that there are many other "very important and very smart creatures."
35I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Israeli researchers say they have successfully taught a goldfish to drive a small, robotic car. 2The team said the fish showed its ability to navigate toward a target in order to receive a food reward. 3For the experiment, the researchers built what they called a Fish Operated Vehicle (FOV). The main part of the vehicle was a fish tank attached to a moving machine with four motorized wheels. 4Attached to the top was a system used to follow all movements of the fish and vehicle. The system was operated by lidar, a technology that uses light lasers to map environments and measure distances. 5When the system observed that the fish was up against the side of the glass while facing forward, it would move the vehicle forward in that direction. The researchers said that over time, the fish learned that putting itself in these positions would move the FOV in those directions. In this way, the fish was able to "drive" the vehicle. 6A team at Israel's Ben-Gurion University of the Negev carried out the research. Results of the experiment were recently reported in the publication Behavioral Brain Research. 7Researcher Shachar Givon told the Reuters news agency it was surprising how quickly the fish learned to drive the vehicle. "They're confused at first - they don't know what's going on," he said. "But they're very quick to realize that there is a correlation between their movement and the movement of the machine that they're in." 8The team used six different goldfish in the study. Each fish took part in about 10 driving exercises. A colorful target was clearly marked on a wall opposite the tank. Each time a fish reached a target, it was rewarded with food. 9The researchers said the fish were able to navigate to the target even if something happened to temporarily take them off the path. And, they said, the fish were not fooled by false targets placed by the team. 10Researcher Ronen Segev said some of the fish proved to be "excellent" drivers. Others, he said, showed that while they could control the vehicle, they were not very good at driving it. 11The team reported that their experiment led to two main findings. The first was that "navigational ability is universal rather than specific to the environment," researcher Givon said in a statement. 12Secondly, the experiment showed that goldfish have the "cognitive ability" to learn to perform a complex operation "in an environment completely unlike the one they evolved in." 13Givon compared the experiment to a human first learning to ride a bicycle or drive a car. In both of those cases, the beginning can be difficult, he said. 14A description of the study noted that navigation is a "critical ability" for animal survival. Such an ability permits many kinds of creatures to find shelter, seek mates and be successful in many kinds of behaviors. 15In this case, the researchers sought to find out whether the fish could use the same navigational skills they use in the water to move a vehicle traveling on land. 16In the end, the team found the results demonstrated that a fish is able to keep its "space representation and navigation skills" when put into a completely "terrestrial," or land-based, environment. 17Researcher Ronen Segev said, "We humans think of ourselves as very special. And many think of fish as primitive, but this is not correct." He added that there are many other "very important and very smart creatures." 18I'm Bryan Lynn. 19Bryan Lynn wrote this story, based on reports from Ben-Gurion University, Behavioral Brain Research, Reuters and Agence France-Presse. 20We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 21______________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23navigate - v. to find the right direction for traveling by using maps or other equipment 24reward - n. something good that you receive or experience because you do something good, work hard, behave well, etc. 25confused - adj. unable to think clearly or understand something 26correlation - n. a connection between two or more things, usually where one causes or influence the other 27cognitive - adj. relating to how people think, understand and learn 28evolve - v. to develop or make something develop 29primitive - adj. relating to human society at a very early stage of development