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Robotic Fish

Shikala of KoLari writes "Here's a link to a CNN story on the robotic fish that Japanese science has given us. Remind you of any 'You like our owl?' conversations in BladeRunner(TM) ? Now, all I want is a tank of these puppies in my cube at work. "

56 comments

  1. Done before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Didn't some guys at MIT make a robotic tuna a couple of years ago? I rememeber seeing it in Scientific American.

  2. Yeah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But who cares about robotic guppies when we could have robotic women?

  3. fish stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why spend tons of money designing robotic fish when nature has built beautiful live ones? They don't need their batteries recharged every 30 minutes.

  4. Kinda fishy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let's see... Crack RC5-56 in 3 days or less for $250,000, or build a fish for $1,000,000. Ladies and gentlemen, I think it's time to increase your key lengths.


    [I'm gonna get you little fishy! OW OW I broke my tooth!!! AHHHhhhhhhh! (Gotta love Red Dwarf)]

  5. science stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why do X when Y exists?

    Why spend money on exploring west of the Pacific when people are dying of the plague?

  6. Coelacanth is NOT extinct. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1) I don't think the coelacanth is extinct.

    2) The Blade Runner parallel is eerie. The only
    way to distinguish the robot fish from the
    real ones is by looking at their eyes, just
    like the human/replicant test (what's the name?)
    in Blade Runner [1]
    -- cary

    [1] One of the BEST movies ever, right up there
    with Agurrie, the Wrath of God and Days of
    Heaven.

  7. Everyone is missing something here... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    I think it is unfortunate that the article did not stress the possibilities here. A mere mention was made of reproducing extinct species for museums. I really think that this is the beauty of the technology.

    Imagine, going to the museum of natural history, and seeing a tasmanian tiger prowling back and forth in front of you. Or a tank full of ancient fish species that no longer exist.

    It is not as good as the real thing, no. But in many cases we no longer have the real thing. A tank full of "extinct species" would do wonders to spark the imaginations of children and let adults know just what we stand to lose if we don't take care of the earth better than we have been.

    The power issue will be solved. That is minor compared to everything else.

    I'll bet you Disney World jumps on this technology in a big way. They have always been early adopters of "animatronic" technologies and have done some fairly convincing work. Could this become the basis of their Litle Mermaid ride?

  8. Holy fishguts, batman! Underwater beowulf cluster? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow! If you could load linux on one of these, set up an MP3 player, give it enough storage space for Rob's MP3 collection, then BEOWULF cluster these bad boys... That f*cking crab from the Little Mermaid would have NOTHING on these fish! I mean, if you did it right, you could be guaranteed to get the first post EVERY TIME!

  9. The end is near. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "More human than human....." Beware ./ers you are next. Instead of a salary the compensation will be a battery charging. Woohoo! I can't wait to apply for my Bladerunner certs...............

  10. Coelacanth is NOT extinct. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1 - its not

    2 - 'voit comp' or some such

  11. That technology will be ready 1 day after you die by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Murphy's Law.

  12. 10 more to develop the brain emulator? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Assuming God doesn't sue over IP violations ....... :(

  13. Real Dolls on HBO by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah. I switched it on halfway through, and thought the guy was scoring two chicks at once, until they showed a good close up.

  14. I'll be impressed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    when someone makes a passable fly.

  15. Animatronics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Disney did not adopt the technology early on.

    They invented it. The frozen guy himself did.

  16. Prey for robokitten? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Genobyte is developing a robot cat:
    http://www.hip.atr.co.jp/~degaris/kitten.htm l
    And Sony is developing a robot dog:
    http://www.hip.atr.co.jp/~degaris/robokoneko /sonydog.html
    How long before we have a whole robotic food chain?

  17. So.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The book is called "THe Age of Spiritual Machines" Tis good.

  18. Don't hold your breath. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What a truly odd statement. I don't really know how to respond to that...

  19. Oh man, the weapon potential is frightening! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The "school" could have fish with different roles, one with a camera mounted in it, another which handled tracking, another which transmitted data back to the US (or other country), a fish which the rest of them followed (a leader) and was controlled by the home country, and the rest would be weapons... there could be backup fish as well incase the leader or other important fish were lost at sea. The applications for this are outstanding, imagine.... this is like the trained dolphins of late which could plant bombs and such, but without the animal rights issues.

  20. Bladerunner by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The correct title is "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

  21. I bet that the Japs... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... already have a robotic RealDoll in their labs.

  22. Weapon : Not with this tech. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It would be easily detected. A good sonar operator would be able to hear them, if nothing else. It would work once.

  23. You can tell the men from the boys... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And I mean really, you could get so much more sexual satisfaction out of messing around with multiple linux boxes at once than multiple women.

  24. Can they make robotic whales as well ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... for research purposes, of course :)

  25. Weapon : Not with this tech... wait a few years. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    With this technology no, it wouldn't make sence.... it would not work.

    Wait for a few years... they'll get better tech.

    1. Using active sonar to locate fishies would give away your position... which is what the fishies would be looking for in the first place.

    2. Useing pasive sonar the fishies might be able too be just another fish. It might even be posible to get them swiming with a school of real fish.

    3. squid, magnetic detectors, EM detectors, etc. There are ways of dealing with these things. There is also the posibility of starting up a few research projects that tag fish with little electronic devices to record stuff... the detectors in the subs would then be useless.

  26. TWO Tests for Androids by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't remember the name of the second offhand, but there was a second test in addition to the Voight-Kampf test (in the book, that is- used by another San Franciscan bounty hunter).

    -Kevin

  27. Mercerism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    IIRC, the animals were around partly because of Mercerism's emphasis on empathy. Animals were a way of building and experiencing empathy.

    -Kevin

  28. because fish stupid, tanto. by gavinhall · · Score: 1

    Posted by F.A.N.G.:

    Fish are stupid. I'd rather see a sea full of e-fish than the stinky slimy unpredictable biologics. Mitsubishi made zeros during WW2, they cause rain forests to be destroyed, they KNOW where the world is heading. The whole world will look like newark, and the sky will be colors mother nature never dreamed of! No wimpy REAL fish will be able to survive.


  29. Robot Sharks by gavinhall · · Score: 1

    Posted by LOTHAR, of the Hill People:

    I want a a Robotic shark with friggin laser beams strapped to thier heads
    :)

  30. Oh man, the weapon potential is frightening! by Trak · · Score: 1

    put some explosives in these puppies and release a school of them into a major harbor... yikes.

  31. Bladerunner by axolotl · · Score: 1

    Sorry, I should have read the post to which you were replying more carefully. I didn't notice he said "electronic".



    axolotl

  32. Voight-Kampf by axolotl · · Score: 1

    "My mother? Lemme tell you about my mother..."

  33. Sean Young wars by axolotl · · Score: 1

    No, the Bladerunner one was better
    No, the Dune one was
    No, she was prettie in Bladerunner
    She was better in Dune... use VI!
    Use emacs dammit!

  34. logarithmically? by axolotl · · Score: 1

    That would be a bit shit. Very shit, in fact. I take it you mean exponentially, which is exactly the inverse of logarithmically.

  35. Robot Sea-bass by axolotl · · Score: 1

    Well... is it vicious?

  36. So.. by Defiler · · Score: 1

    So, when do we get to be immortal?

  37. Bladerunner by Pedro+Picasso · · Score: 1
    Did anyone read Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sleep, the book "Bladerunner" was based on. They had a kooky religion based on the fact that mankind had killed off most animals, and everyone had to keep a pet to be kosher. People who couldn't afford real ones bought electronic pets to keep up appearances.

    Now we're making expensive replicants that can only swim for 30 minutes. Now sure it's keen that we made a fish, but come on people. Priorities. How much more money is the human race going to spend on these crazy projects? There must be some less expensive way to cure boredom.


    I still want one of those cool plastic birds that flies when you wind it up!

  38. I'm gonna get you little fishie! by nstrug · · Score: 1

    Yeah, didn't Lister have two mechanical fish - Lennon and McCartney? And the cat broke his tooth trying to eat one...

    Nick

    --
    -- "It's a sad day for American capitalism when a man can't fly a midget on a kite over Central Park" - Jim Moran
  39. Power source... by Chops-Frozen-Water · · Score: 1

    ...needs to be photovoltaic (or whatever the technical term for solar-powered is :). So their activity cycle is based on when you turn the aquarium light on and off. :)

    -cfw
    --

    --
    The Future: Some assembly required; batteries not included.
  40. Ye ol' Magnetic Induction... by Zyber · · Score: 1

    That's the funniest thing I have heard all day

  41. On the subject of Electronic Owls... by Prothonotar · · Score: 1

    I'd rather have that one from Clash of the Titans.

    --
    Aaron Gaudio
    "The fool finds ignorance all around him.

    --
    "Every man is a mob, a chain gang of idiots." - Jonathan Nolan, Memento Mori
  42. hmmmm by datazone · · Score: 1

    it intresting that they could only get 30 mins of battery life out of it, hope they can up it to around a few hours, and then find a way to allow it to recharge itself. What would be even better is if they could create a fuel system based on algae of some similar small life form, therby allowing the robotic fish to replenish its fuel source by it self.
    Now if only NASA would wise up and ivest some money into robotic AI and technology instead of wasting time with manned missions.

    --
    Its spelt "L-I-N-U-X", but pronunced as "Free Beer"
  43. no, by datazone · · Score: 1

    no, you misunderstood what i said. I was trying to say that instead of spending money on manned missions, they could create AI robots that can do space exploration. They would be easy to replace, cand withstand hostile environment, and can have a spend longer periods of time in space than the human body can withstand. It just makes sense to use robots for space missions.

    --
    Its spelt "L-I-N-U-X", but pronunced as "Free Beer"
  44. elFish by Darchmare · · Score: 1

    Maxis used to (still does?) have a product called 'el fish', which basically stood for 'Electronic Fish'. Basically, you could breed different fish, save them to disk and trade them with people, etc. Considering the graphical capabilities of the computers at the time, the graphics were nice. It even had an AI-based music generator that would auto create soothing music to fit your aquarium.

    You could add those little scuba diver things, various plants, and even a crab to your aquarium. There was even a cat paw that would try to 'fish' out one of your fish. It was pretty cool.

    The breeding process basically involved finding a couple fish (there was a map where you could find them at random) and breed the best looking ones. Once you found the ones you were looking for, you could 'raise' them, which basically entailed dynamically rendering the graphics for the fish - a process that took forever on my old LCIII/68030. :>

    Obviously, you could breed entire lineages of fish, picking and choosing your genetic participants.

    If you can find it, check it out. Maxis always did sell some of the best geek software 'toys'...

    - Darchmare
    - Axis Mutatis, http://www.axismutatis.net

    --

    - Jeff
  45. You like our fish? by Cactus · · Score: 1

    -Artifical?
    -Of course it is.

    :)) Bladerunner is definitely one of my favourite movies... Esp. the director's cut.

    --

    Guikachu: Resource editor for PalmOS developers

  46. Sean Young... by JerkBoB · · Score: 1

    "Do you like our owl?"

    Hrmm... The owl's Ok, but I really like your Rachel... Do I get one?

    *drool*

    --
    A host is a host from coast to coast...
    Unless it's down, or slow, or fails to POST!
  47. hmmmm by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 1

    If you start actually thinking about these sort of things - or, for example, the amount of resources our species spends on advertising, or the fact that California has more than doubled the number of prisons in the past 20 years yet not built a single new public university - your head will explode.

    Just look at the pretty blinking lights.

  48. I'm gonna get you little fishie! by slambo · · Score: 1

    I'm gonna get you little fishie!


    STR
    Sean

  49. For anglers? by jabber · · Score: 1

    Wait a minute! These fish are placed in angling pools? As in, to be caught? What's the point? Just wait a half hour till the batteries die, and net them out of the water. :)

    Seriously though, if these things present a reasonable facimile of fish, in terms of fishing for them, then this really is something interesting. If they just float around, that's nothing, but if they discriminate bait, put up a fight, and spit the hook... Well, I'd still prefer spearing them. :)

    --

    -- What you do today will cost you a day of your life.
  50. Ye ol' Magnetic Induction... by Shikala+of+KoLari · · Score: 1

    While some 'Experts' are trying to draw pictures of extinct fish, these guys are going to give us moving 'art'.

    I'll admit, the 30-min battery life sucks, but I bet they could use some magnetic induction technology to let the fish charge up as it gets near the bottom of the tank. It would actually get it's 'food' from the bottom. Now how cool is that?

  51. Just a thought ... by Yosemite+Sue · · Score: 1

    ... when the batteries die do the fish float belly-up?

    --
    "Arrr! The laws of science be a harsh mistress." -- Bender
  52. While we're putting in orders ... by Yosemite+Sue · · Score: 1

    ... I'd like my own Deckerd!

    --
    "Arrr! The laws of science be a harsh mistress." -- Bender
  53. I want one. by Erk · · Score: 1

    Any idea if I can go down to the local Kay Bee Toys and pick one up yet? ;)

  54. URL and Bibtex reference for RoboTuna by TNN · · Score: 1

    http://web.mit.edu/org/s/spiral/www/People/trian.h tml

    @Article{Triantafyllou:1995:ESM,
    author = "Michael S. Triantafyllou and George S. Triantafyllou",
    title = "An Efficient Swimming Machine",
    journal = "Scientific American",
    year = 1995,
    month = "Mar."
    }

  55. Coelacanth is NOT extinct. by The+Rook · · Score: 1

    [The only way to distinguish the robot fish from the real ones is by looking at their eyes]

    You've got to be kidding me? Did anyone here NOT look at that QT movie and immediately think "that fish is paralyzed!"? The ONLY thing moving on it was it's tail. If they want to mimic a Live fish they're going to have to do a heck of a lot better than that.

  56. because they can. by cirion · · Score: 1

    this answer (correct as it is) reminds me strongly of the book 'strata' by terry pratchett ... anyway, an interesting book as regards artificial creation ...