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Augmented Fish Reality is an in process interactive installation of rolling robotic fish-bowl sculptures designed to explore interspecies and transpecies communication. These could best be termed as biocybernetic sculptures that allow Siamese Fighting fish to use intelligent hardware and software to move their robotic bowls. As with many fish, Siamese fighting fish have eyes which allow them to see for great distances outside the water. They have the ability to mentally map their environments in finding food and avoiding predators. I believe that given the proper system design, the Siamese fighting fish will discover the interface and choose to use it to move the bowls around while interacting with their environment. This design will use accurate infrared sensors around and under each bowl. By swimming to the edge of the bowl the fish will activate motorized wheels that move the robots in that direction. Humans will interact with the work simply by entering the environment. In past artworks I have found that the Siamese fighting fish move toward humans, presumably because they associate humans with food. Still, these are robots under fish control and the fish may choose to approach and/or move away from the human participants and each other.
(KEN RINALDO)
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Video: 'Augmented Fish Reality is an interactive installation of five rolling robotic fish-bowl sculptures designed to explore interspecies and transpecies communication.
These sculptures allow Siamese Fighting fish (Betta Splendons) to use intelligent hardware and software to move their robotic bowls - under their control. Siamese fighting fish have excellent eyes which allow them to see outside the water. They have color vision and seem to like the color yellow.
Small lipstick video cameras mounted under two of the bowls image the interior of the fish bowls as well as humans in this environment and these images are intercepted with video transceivers and projected back to the walls of the installation and give human participants a sense both looking to the interior of the tanks and feeling as if they are immersed in the tanks.
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