World’s first intelligent aquarium

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We all love to observe and learn new about different things and organisms that inhabit our planet. We do this in a variety of ways, and if we talk about the study of marine organisms, one of the ways is to visit the oceanarium. Usually, near the aquarium there are signs on which basic information about the fish living in this aquarium is written. In a public aquarium full of marine life, it is often difficult to distinguish which species are represented in it. Especially often there is a situation when a child asks his parents about some fish, but they cannot clearly tell and explain all the information to the child. It happens that adults themselves are simply too lazy to read the entire flow of information. Developed by specialists from the Research Institute of Technology in Taiwan AI Aquarium helps to solve all these problems. Artificial intelligence thanks to the tracking of the eyes of observers, the position of fish in the tank and the algorithm for recognizing objects gives out the necessary information and makes the process of observing marine life not only spectacular, but also informative.

The new AI Aquarium is an almost ordinary aquarium with an interactive transparent screen on the outer edge and two cameras. 3D camera aimed at the audience, tracks the movement of the observer’s eyes and determines with high accuracy where his gaze is directed. The second camera is directed inside the tank and covers all its inhabitants. It allows to recognize the location of each fish at any given time. This is possible because of an algorithm that recognizes the object and analyzes the video information from the camera in real time. Next, the algorithm compares the appearance of the animals with their pictures from the database. By comparing the direction of the user’s gaze and the location of the fish, AI Aquarium determines which one a person is looking at. In addition, the system identifies which species the animal belongs to and displays the relevant information on a transparent interactive microLED display. There is also a function to reproduce information in audio format. According to the Research Institute, the accuracy of the system for recognizing the species and location of fish is very high and is 98%.

The designation of the species of fish appears on the screen in the form of a signature, which is placed directly below the animal in the field of view of a person. If viewers want to know more detailed information about the fish, they can request it with simple hand gestures. The system attributes to each species different gestures that can be seen at the bottom of the screen. At the moment, the first AI Aquarium is available at the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology in Taiwan. At CES 2023, the Industrial Technology Research Institute was awarded the title of one of the leading innovators of the year. AI Aquarium was noted as one of the most striking and creative achievements in the category of “virtual reality”.

I believe that such an AI Aquarium is a step towards a new perception of the tourist business and services. Perhaps in the near future, with the help of artificial intelligence, this area, like many others, will face global changes and access to a new level in the provision of services. I am sure that such an aquarium will become a trend of the present time, as it displays the effect of immersion and the possibility of new interaction between people and exhibits.

In my opinion, artificial intelligence and all the innovations possible thanks to it exist precisely in order to make human life better, to develop us, to open new horizons for us and to expand our boundaries of perception of the world. Artificial intelligence should serve a person. And that’s what this invention is. This aquarium helps to increase the public’s interest in studying the animal world, including the marine.

I’m strongly convinced that the technologies that have been used in the new smart aquarium in the future can be used in other important areas of life, for example, in the field of education or medicine.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that artificial intelligence is currently penetrating absolutely into all spheres of human life. On the example of such an AI Aquarium, you can see that even the most ordinary things can be considered from a different angle and can become an innovation and something non-standard. The main thing is the ability to see the possibility and prospect of combining simple things and artificial intelligence.