Because scientists have had literally nothing else to work on for the past two years [SARCASM] a group of scientists in Israel have used their knowledge and education to teach goldfish how to drive.
Yes. Goldfish.
They built a small, robotic vehicle that could move in any direction – with a fish tank on it. They called it an “F.O.V.” or “Fish Operated Vehicle.”
A special camera tracked the fish’s movements, translating them into directions for the fish-car. So if they swam toward one side of the tank, the whole vehicle would move in that direction.
Next, they put it in a room with a big target on one of the walls. And if the fish could make it to the target, they’d reward it with food.
Within a few days, the goldfish had learned how to do it. They eventually got good enough to basically drive a straight line right to the target. Researchers ultimately taught six different goldfish to drive, so it wasn’t a fluke. [Fish pun!]
They say the point of the study was to learn more about how our brains navigate terrain we’re not used to.
They also wanted to see if fish are smart enough to learn complex tasks. Apparently they are, so now we have to be scared of a post-apocalyptic world in which goldfish are driving around the wasteland in Mad Max-style vehicles battling each other for the last remaining jars of Tetra fish flakes. Thanks, science!
[StudyFinds][YouTube: StudyFinds]
