Scientists use robot interpreter to make fish and bees ‘talk’ to each other

Scientists have tried something unlikely in a new experiment – making bees and fish ‘talk’ to each other with the help of robots.

Scientists have found a new way to allow communication and movement coordination between a group of two separate species, fish and bees, using some specially designed robotic interpreters.

Combining embedded robotic ‘spies’ and terminals; one in a colony of bees in Austria and the other, a swimming animatronic robot, among a school of fish in Switzerland; the team was able to capture signals from the two separate species and then translate them into a language that both of them could understand, reported Daily Mail.

A terminal inside the bees’ colony communicated by fluctuating air temperature, movement and vibrations, whereas the robot spy embedded in the school of fish changed its color, speed and movements.

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Hence, the bees started to swarm outside of their terminal while the fish started to change their swimming patterns, going counterclockwise. “The robots acted as if they were negotiators and interpreters in an international conference,” author Francesco Mondada told TechXplore.

“Through the various information exchanges, the two groups of animals gradually came to a shared decision.”

Researchers claim that this successful experiment does have real application in biological research. “It’s the first time that people are using this kind of technology to have two different species communicate with each other,” biologist Simon Garnier told The Scientist. “It’s a proof of concept that you can have robots mediate interactions between distant groups.”

The team says that the findings could help robotics engineers understand and adapt ways of capturing biological signals of certain animal groups. Also, the data can help further understanding of how some animals interact and why.

Moreover, such advances can also help scientists to develop more artificially intelligent robots that biologists can use to help shape animals’ lives for better and also help steer animals away from polluted areas or other hazardous outcomes, as per Daily Mail.