We all know Kickstarter is appreciated for its supportive personality in all things creative. Currently, a company called Studio Diip is seeking funding for something even the “nerdiest” nerds could consider odd. A team of Dutch designers developed a mobile fish tank prototype, Fish on Wheels, which allows the fish to control the movement of the tank. So, yes, finally fish can drive! Packed with an Arduino-powered robot vehicle, a standard webcam, and a battery-powered Beagleboard, the “vehicle” is steered by a camera pointed at the fish to monitor the direction it is swimming.

The company, which specializes in making products using image recognition tech, is asking $200 for the gadget on Kickstarter, and Fish On Wheels is already selling! It designed the prototype because they wanted to “showcase the possibilities of computer vision technology”, said by Thomas De Wolf of Studio Diip. First launched on April 29th, the design looks significantly altered from an earlier prototype, as the fish now have more space, the cart battery lasts longer, and performs more stable movements that before. As mentioned on the site, the company’s initial goal is to hit 40 thousand Euros. But, if 70 thousand Euros is met, a final version can be made with color-changing LED headlights (I’m sure the fish appreciate the vehicle “bling”).



The big question? Besides simple experimentation as well as showing off computer vision technology, what is the point, and who wants to buy one of these? What about the fear of letting the fish “roam” about the house and the tank breaking? Certainly the animals aren’t experiencing true freedom just because it appears they are moving. They are technically still confined to the same square inches of glass. Well, the developers say the tank has subtle and fluid movement “so the fish won’t stress out”. Additionally, some groups are saying Fish On Wheels “will bring equality to fish because other pets already get to roam around your house at will”. So there you have it, we have a possible fish freedom movement on our hands! The only other thing to be argued is whether we should create fish tank accessible ramps for our stairs!