To Study Navigation, Researchers Taught Six Goldfish How to Drive

Long-time Slashdot reader cusco shares a fish story from the Guardian.

Apparently Israeli researchers created a robotic car and taught six fish to navigate it on land... First, the team, led by Prof Ronen Segev, created a watery tank on wheels that moved in response to the movements and orientation of the fish. Then they set about teaching the goldfish (Carassius auratus) how to drive it — much like humans learn to ride a bike or drive a car.

The fish first had to connect their own swimming movements to the movements of the vehicle so they could navigate it. Then they were given a destination: a pink target board in a foreign room that elicited a food reward when the vehicle touched it. A computerised camera system attached to this "fish operated vehicle" recorded and translated the fish's swimming directions.

After several days of training, the fish successfully navigated the vehicle to the target from different starting positions in the room — even if they faced obstacles like false targets or hitting a wall.

What about humans?

[quonset]

After several days of training, the fish successfully navigated the vehicle to the target from different starting positions in the room

Considering the abysmal driving of the vast majority of people on the road, can we train them for several days instead of goldfish?

Re:

[cusco]

How about just replacing long-haul truckers with goldfish?

Re:

[NFN_NLN]

Who is going to keep the teenage runaway population in check then?

Re: What about humans?

[Eratic_vibe]

I thought it was going to be a remark about the type of fish and origin of the study but nope, you win the offensive response reward.. because it's sadly true and I can't wait for autonomous cartage to displace some of these positions despite the fact that some good honest people occupy them. They will find something better.

Re:

[jd]

A definite option. Or offer them as an upgrade for some of the self-driving cars. Certainly, all the drivers in the Chesapeake Bay area should be considered.

Re:

[q_e_t]

You'd need to paint the destination pink and tip them with fish food, apparently.

Re:

[burtosis]

After several days of training, the fish successfully navigated the vehicle to the target from different starting positions in the room

Considering the abysmal driving of the vast majority of people on the road, can we train them for several days instead of goldfish?

You think people driving other cars is real? They were goldfish all along, just think about it.

Re:

[RogueWarrior65]

Well, you may have just answered your own question. Fact is that people should get advanced driver training by professionals on a track and not those high-school teachers who get handed the task. Of course, that costs money and right now there are a lot of useless things that are taking precedence.

Re:

[sensor1]

The sort of training you are speaking of tends to increase the risk of accidents.

Overconfidence, and too much faith in advanced skills, are both problems, but are both often outcomes of advanced skills training.

A public road is not a track. Skills like emergency braking and cornering to the point of breaking traction are less important than being alert, careful and trying to anticipate what will be happening in the next 2-20 seconds.

Re:

[MrL0G1C]

2nd that, I've heard a cabbie say their bad driving was fine because they'd passed an advanced driving course.

Re:

[Growlley]

They must have been American fish - they didn't teach stick,

Researchers Taught Six Goldfish How to Drive

[NFN_NLN]

> Researchers Taught Six Goldfish How to Drive

The real question is, can they teach them to parallel park. And if so, what is the secret. Asking for a friend.

Been ther, done that.

[fahrbot-bot]

Researchers Taught Six Goldfish How to Drive

Pepperidge Farm did that [ispot.tv] a while ago ...

Re: Been ther, done that.

[madsh]

Shh. Donâ(TM)t say that. Are you suggesting the researchers might have been able to answer their question in less time by doing research? And the research was more directed by the combined lack of google search algorithm and the researched creative when searching for prior art? I donâ(TM)t know anything about they researchers or their work. So letâ(TM)s blame the editor. Ooohh wait, that has been a while since Slashdot had such one.

Re: Been ther, done that.

[madsh]

And even longer since they had a programmer who knew anything about character encoding. Gosh!

Found it

[lactose99]

Uber's end game.

I'm not 100% sure, but

[93 Escort Wagon]

I think I was behind one of these guys the other day on the northbound I-5 collector-distributor in Seattle.

Re:

[PPH]

No. That was an old Norwegian on his way to Ballard. The wide open mouth may have confused you.

Re:

[93 Escort Wagon]

If he grew up in Ballard, he's probably all confused now anyway.

Re:

[Lije Baley]

Sorry, no, that was me. I'm a little out of practice after working from home so long. Also I was a bit intimidated by that ancient little car of yours.

Re:

[93 Escort Wagon]

Hey, an Escort is nothing. When I was young I owned a Pinto.

Although, admittedly, being ahead of a Pinto is a lot safer than being behind one...

First thing the second goldfish did

[SuperKendall]

taught six fish to navigate it on land..

When the second goldfish learned the drive, the first thing it did was cut the second goldfish off pulling ahead of him, then later parked right next to him in a parking lot with only two cars.

Were the goldfish sober . . . ?

[PolygamousRanchKid]

The next research step would be to get the goldfish drunk:

Drunken Goldfish and Other Irrelevant Scientific Research [amazon.com]

Then the researchers would definitely win an IgNobel.

Re:

[cusco]

Damn, it's not available as an ebook.

Re:

[fermion]

I so miss the Journal of Irreproducible Results.

My favorite is the National Geographic apocalypse. https://xray-delta.com/2011/05... [xray-delta.com]

They should sell this to the army

[InterGuru]

The tank corps needs reinforcements

Can I have some?

[angel'o'sphere]

Can I have some for my Tesla?

Re:

[MrL0G1C]

Yes, next year, unless there are unforeseeable delays.

Old joke, new meaning

[q_e_t]

https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8... [wixmp.com]

Redundancy

[q_e_t]

Given my experience with goldfish, on a long haul delivery run you are going to lose at least one goldfish. So the system needs to know to exclude floating goldfish and have a couple of spares before Tesla's SDC efforts are in peril from Birdseye. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

Cute - Now What?

[madsh]

Have we established a gold fish threshold for task complexity? Why six? The final argument for car pooling? More autonomy for cold blooded creatures?

A fishy story

[Walt Dismal]

At first I thought this was a whale of an accomplishment then I reread it. I am so disappointed. But I cod help it. It's a halibut advance in driving technology and Tesla ought to put a fish in every car and anchovy what they can do.