How the Singing Fish Works

Wall decors come in many kinds. Traditional ones include sculptures, emblems, beautiful paintings, or mosaics. A more contemporary home may have a colorful, artful display of lights projected into the wall.

However, there are other kinds of wall decors that are less than traditional. We've seen an entire wall as an aquarium, for example, with lots of colorful fish swimming in it. One of the most unusual wall decors is the singing fish, which has gained popularity in the United States. A singing fish looks like a large stuffed bass or a trout mounted on a wall plaque. When someone walks near it, it starts to wriggle, swing its head out, and lip syncs to a popular pre-recorded song, a clip that is usually thirty seconds long. For many viewers, it will come out as a funny surprise.

Singing fishes are now a fad in the country, available in mall stores, in a flea market, on television, or in the Internet. Sales are quite high that many stores often run out of stock to sell.

It might look like a ridiculous nautical wall décor, but it is actually a more than that. The fish and the plaque are actually two parts of a simple robot. How exactly does this unusual nautical wall decor work?

The fish itself is a very simple robot. It is powered by its own battery. Foam padding is used as the filling stuff, which is wrapped around by articulated plastic segments of the fish. The entire framework is articulated by three small DC motors. The motors power three parts of the fish-the tail, which flaps back and forth; the body, which swings in and out from the plaque; and the mouth, which opens and closes to simulate singing.

The movement is caused by automatically alternating the application of power. When power is applied, the motors move the tail forward, the body outward, and the jaws open. When power is turned off, all the parts go back into the default position. The motors are synchronized with the pre-recorded music. The motors allow the fish to move in relatively complex patterns.

The second component of the singing fish is housed in the plaque. It consists of the speaker, a battery pack, and an on-and-off switch. More importantly, it houses the brain of the singing fish-a photocell and a circuit board that contains the controller chip, the integrated circuit, or IC, which contains the prerecorded music in a digital format and programmed synchronization, and sound amplifiers.

There is also an electric motor housed in the base of this unusual nautical wall décor. The motor allows the entire front end of the fish to swing out of the plaque so its face points toward the viewer.

The photoreceptor cell near the bottom of the fish is a cool thing that acts like a switch. When a person passes near it, light is blocked, which signals the IC to begin its sequence. The fish then begins to sing. The speaker behind the base reproduces the digitized sound sent from the IC.

The singing fish is not really useful, but it is a unique wall décor that never fails to put a smile on anyon