AMOEBA wave pool

AMOEBA (Advanced Multiple Organized Experimental Basin) is a prototype wave-pool developed in 1997 by the Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering in Osaka, Japan. The purpose of this water contraption is to study the effects of waves on ships in open waters.

AMOEBA features 50 “plungerlike” mechanical units along the edge of the pool that can simulate wave conditions. Each mechanical piece vibrates the water at a specific frequency and in effect the water carries along these frequencies just as they would in ocean waters.

By manipulating the frequencies of the waves, these Japanese researchers have found that they can create patterns and “pictures” using the water.

Head on over to the AMOEBA website at MoMA to see a video of this pool in action. It’s really cool to see water dance in formation.