In this project we aim to address questions using biomimetic fish robots that serve as communication partners in a shoal of electric fish. Our robotic agents infiltrate the natural group and are programmed to interact with the animals. Using these artificial fish, we can test different hypotheses to decipher the meaning of the EOD synchronizations. With biomimetic robots we have full control over the cues e place in a social system. This permits us to disentangle complex behavioural displays and ask which  cues are actual signals, which are by-products? We can implement our current understanding into robots and test our models in the real world.