Super Smart Dolphin Answers Questions - Extraordinary Animals - Earth
Description:
The Echo Location Visualization and Interface System (ELVIS) allows Dolphins to make choices and answer questions. Luna the young Dolphin grasped the concept quickest and is eager to choose her own meals and please her trainers.
For the first time ever, the Elvis project
allows the dolphins to ¶
use echo location as a pointing tool to
make choices and answer questions.
A series of shapes are projected
onto an underwater screen.
Each shape symbolises a different type of
fish.
For example, a square means a mackerel, a
cross is a squid.
By aiming their echo location beam to
shape projected on the screen
the dolphins can choose what type of fish
they want to eat.
The echo location beam shows up as dots.
Green is a weak signal, white is strong.
Underwater hydrophones record the echo
location sound signals.
The black dots here are
hydrophones, 16 in all.
And the, the cable is just takes
the signals from the hydrophone to the
computer.
When the echolocation beam is strong
enough for the computer to read the
signal, the trainer's whistle blows and
the dolphins get their chosen reward.
Only three dolphins in the world have been
trained to do this.
Out of them, Luna was the quickest to
grasp the concept.
She manages to hit her chosen target
almost instantly every time.
She remembers.
Luna is the young dolphin and, as
such, a little bit more motivated.
She, she likes to play, to, investigate
Things and she's very eager to, to please the
trainers. Each run of the experiment yields
different results.
It allows Luna to choose what she wants to
eat.
Some days squid is her favorite.
On others, it's mackerel.
Here are the symbols for, caplan and
squid and these round and green dots are the trace of that
sonar beam.
And now Luna hit the, the squid symbol.
And then she made a little buzz of happiness that she managed to trigger it.
She can now go back to the trainer, and
she will be given a squid.
And when her work duties are over for the day,
it's time for some well earned rest and
play.
The Elvis system is still in its infancy.
Ammunden hopes one day it could be used for other projects including allowing
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dolphins to choose toys, play their own music, and even reveal their emotions