By Beth Bacheldor

Since May, about 20 fish in the Living Fossils tank at Underwater World Singapore (UWS) have been talking to their visitors. No, the oceanarium hasn't discovered a new fish species, but it has found that RFID can make the exhibit more interesting and exciting.

The idea for the interactive exhibit grew out of an RFID system that was implemented to help identify individual fish while they are in the tank, making veterinary procedures much easier. The fish had Texas Instruments' low-frequency, half-duplex transponders encased in glass embedded just underneath their skin.



When a tagged fish swims by an underwater RFID antenna, its name pops up on a computer screen. Visitors can click on icons to get information about its species, diet and characteristics. The exhibit has been such a hit that UWS hopes to expand it to the shark tank, enabling some of the more than 150 fish from 20 different species to reveal their secrets from the deep.