Cerva

In the Virtual Aquarium we explored the behavior of four different fish species (simple, shoal, prey and curious). The scenario notion is relaxed in the sense that each fish (modeled as an agent) has a set of goals and decides, depending on the state of the environment, on the primal objective. The behavior of each entity is described by a number of Fuzzy cognitive maps (graphs of influences that allow the agent to decide on its actions depending on its perceptions). The interactions among agents are the result of stimuli generated by means of effectors (actions) and their reception through receptors (perceptions). The results of the study allowed us to launch the VirtualDive project.
The main pedagogical objective of the VirtualDive project (was children’s (but not only) growing receptivity to the fragility of the under-water environment. For the time being, the involvement of the user in the evolution of the environment is possible only through standard inputs (mouse, keyboard), and expresses by means of the avatar associated with him or her. The user can dive into the aquarium and experiment fish feeding, disturbing the fish shoals or defend fish against predators. More, by simulating the real effects of disasters on the flora and fauna of the aquarium, we expect to further sensitize children to the fragility of the environment. We favor pets-like relationships between children and fishes which inhabit the other environment (water). The children’s diving into the aquatic environment allows them to interact with various species of fish and to modify the environment conditions, such as temperature and pollution. Educational actions, such as cleaning the environment, planting algae of even re-populating the environment with various species of fish, are expected to emerge during the participative immersive simulations of the users of the system.