Freewheeling fish drives motorized tank with a flick of its fin
Computer vision allows machines and robots throughout our plants to see and navigate effortlessly. But this inventive technology can also improve lives, offering increased mobility for those who need it. I am speaking, of course, about goldfish. No longer bound by the barrier of their bowls, fish can now utilize specially designed tanks to motor through their surrounding effortlessly.
According to Jessie Geoffray for Popular Science: "If Thomas de Wolf gets his way, pet fish will soon navigate terra firma. A co-founder of Netherlands design firm Studio diip, de Wolf built a motorized tank that empowers goldfish to drive around. 'We wanted to make something that showcases computer vision technology, but not in such an industrial way,' he says. 'We thought, "Let’s do something for fish."' De Wolf and fellow industrial designer Guust Hilte built a platform to hold a one-gallon tank and attached four DC motor–powered wheels, a miniature computer, and a battery pack. A webcam monitors the tank from above, and software analyzes the image feed to determine where the fish is. Then the program steers the tank relative to the fish’s location (e.g., if it’s at the front of the tank, the tank moves forward)."
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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