Shenzhen Yangang Middle School students (from left) Chen Xiaojia, Tan Wenbo and Jiang Jiahan show off their handmade artificial intelligence fish lantern models. [Photo by William Xu/chinadaily.com.cn]
In a demonstration video online, fish-shaped lanterns bob in the air as if moving on water – the brainchild of a group of teenage inventors who have added life to light containers made of paper.
Unlike rope puppets or magic tricks using undetectable techniques, the bright fish lanterns come from a built-in artificial intelligence system developed by the “machine making” group at Shenzhen Yangang Middle School.
“In the fish lantern dance, the dancers carry lanterns and simulate the movement of a fish in their performance, and this requires a lot of practice,” said Jiang Jiahan, 17, one of the main inventors of the lantern.
Jiang, who is a senior in high school, says his team wants to lower the threshold with an AI-powered lantern fish that can move on its own. “It will allow more people to participate in traditional performing arts.”
The fish lantern dance is a long-standing cultural heritage in Sha Tau Kok, which covers Shenzhen’s Yantian District, where Jiang’s school is located, and the Northeast New Territories of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Yangang Middle School adopts a hybrid mode of teaching, providing both academically oriented and vocational education. Many vocational school students join the science unit to improve their skills. The artificial intelligence system used in the fish lanterns, called Shadow Dancer, was the brainchild of computer-savvy students.
Tan Wenbo, 18, the final year student in charge of developing the system, explains that a sensor on the head of the lantern will identify different graphics in stages and transmit the result to a printed circuit board. The board, connected to two small motors on the head and tail of the lantern, will make the paper fish perform the corresponding movements.
According to Jiang, the rules are based on the habits of real fish. “For example, if a fish sees algae that could be food, it may dance more often to show its excitement. If she sees corals, which may be favorite fish to rest or hide among, she feels relaxed and will move a little slower.”
In different scenarios, the newest mode of the AI lantern fish has seven sets of moves. The idea was suggested by Jiang’s upperclassmen, and one of its prototypes was completed by the time he joined the group. “The weight of the old model was too heavy to carry,” he says, “and its cardboard paper wrapper crumpled in wet weather.”
Specializing in industrial arts, Jiang made the lanterns with xuan paper – a classic material used for Chinese painting and calligraphy – and iron wires. The improvement reduced the lantern’s weight from 5 kilograms to 2 kilograms.
The seniors’ commitment to the AI fish lantern has been inherited by the newcomers. Chen Xiaojia, a 17-year-old high school sophomore, joined the project last year and is now working on its motor and camera systems. She smiled as she recalled the anecdotes she heard from senior students about the development of the lantern, including their extra effort to hold group discussions despite the challenges posed by school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chen says the project has ignited her passion for innovation, and she intends to take relevant university courses, as do Jiang and Tan.
Yang Tao, 17, who worked on the coding part of the AI system, said he had no programming experience and learned to code after joining the lantern fish project.
In addition to the AI fish lantern, members of the school’s science society are setting their sights on other scientific inventions using their expertise. Qiu Yiyuan, 17, has created a hand-sized robotic vehicle that can lift small objects. Another member of the group, Tang Tang, 16, developed a box that uses water to generate electricity that can light a light bulb.
Zhang Qiang, a teacher-counselor of the society, said the school hopes that students can explore their interests freely and identify their future careers through after-class activities.
Wang Jiarui, another teacher-consultant, said he was happy to see so many group members spontaneously find research topics and turn them into concrete results. These discoveries can revive intangible cultural heritage and help its future development, she says.
