Delle, a hyper-realistic animatronic dolphin, was created with the goal of replacing real dolphins in aquariums and marine amusement parks. While some might lament the showcasing of replicas instead of live creatures, the idea has merit.<\/p>\n
Captive animals have long been a source of human entertainment. We\u2019ve kept lions in cages for thousands of years, enraptured Medieval towns with travelling circuses, and opened the first modern zoo in Paris in 1793. More recently, animals became both props and protagonists on the silver screen.<\/p>\n
In fact, the company behind Delle the Dolphin, named Edge Innovations, was a big player in the world of special effects, creating mock sea animals for Hollywood films like Star Trek<\/em>, Free Willy<\/em>, and The Perfect Storm<\/em>. One of the benefits, aside from adding to filmmakers\u2019 entertainment tools, is that it\u2019s easy to assure viewers that \u2018no animals were harmed\u2019.<\/p>\n Just as animal props are becoming deceptively realistic, it\u2019s becoming increasingly less acceptable to use live animals for entertainment purposes. Documentaries like Blackfish<\/em> (2013) and The Cove<\/em> (2009) have exposed some of the horrific treatment and suffering of ocean mammals. The resulting public outcry has rendered marine parks controversial, attracting more protesters and fewer visitors.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just aquatic animals: Countries around the world have begun to ban circus animals. The iconic American Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus featured performing elephants, tigers, and other beastly attractions for over a century before animal cruelty protests drove them out of business in 2017. They recently announced a comeback \u2013 without live animals.<\/p>\n And yet, arguably, entertaining people with captive animals is vital for animal conservation. Many zoos and aquariums actively try to promote conservation efforts by providing educational experiences and encouraging interest in the natural world. Giving kids (and grownups) the opportunity to see and interact with live animals is generally a lot more exciting and engaging than something in a book or on a screen.<\/p>\n This type of entertainment is useful, because it inspires people to care. And even staunch animal rights activists are divided on the costs and benefits of zoos, since they recognise the value in getting newer generations interested in animals\u2019 lives.<\/p>\n At first blush, this seems like a reason to avoid replacing the animals with technology. And yet, research in the burgeoning field of human-robot interaction is showing astonishing results on engagement with robots that mimic lifelike behaviour. When physically embodied and interactive, robots attract a lot of attention. People tend to treat them like they\u2019re alive, even though they know perfectly well they\u2019re just machines. To paraphrase the research: we\u2019re suckers for things that look cool and move.<\/p>\n Take Delle the dolphin. The current version of this device isn\u2019t so much a robot as an animatronic, meaning it has no autonomous behaviour. The dolphin\u2019s body is entirely remote-controlled. But for the engagement effect, it barely matters whether Delle is an animal, a robot, or a mechanical puppet. According to Edge Innovations, you can tell the people who interact with the dolphin exactly what\u2019s going on and they don\u2019t care. They are just as excited to play with it.<\/p>\n If we start to replace the animals in our theme parks with machines, will this trend decrease our wonder for the natural world? A bunch of people expressed negative gut reactions after I posted footage of the robot dolphin on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2022\/05\/DSC0202cropsize2-copy-65175f2.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C333"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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