Setting Dolphins Free: Engineers Build Life-Like Robot Dolphin For Aquariums

Visiting the zoo or an aquarium allows us to see beautiful and magnificent creatures -- creatures that we¡¯d otherwise never get to see in a city full of people.

However, what most of us fail to realise is that these creatures are not in their natural habitat, and can suffer from loneliness, depression and poor overall health.

Reuters

They¡¯re essentially held captive and these creatures live their whole lives being a mere source of entertainment for people, without really experiencing the world they¡¯re supposed to live in.

However, a group of engineers at Edge Innovations, San Francisco have decided to help in changing this. Reported first by Gizmodo, Edge Innovations has created a robotic dolphin that looks exactly like the real deal, except it isn¡¯t. This robotic dolphin moves through the aquarium water just like a real dolphin, which looks both creepy and amazing at the same time.

Edge Innovations

The developers have worked with Walt Conti and Roger Holzberg -- former Creative Director/ VP at Walt Disney Imagineering -- the same people behind the life-like animatronics developed at Disney World.

The robot dolphin weighs a hefty 269 kilograms and is powered by a battery that lasts a good 10 hours. The robot is controlled by a human and isn¡¯t autonomous. This is cool as not only it makes it a whole lot safer for people around it, but at the same time, it also reduces the complexities of sensors and cameras (well, although it has a bunch of necessary electronics inside already).

The dolphin not just looks realistic but moves like the real deal with the help of a realistic skeletal and muscle structure under its outer skin. The weight is carefully distributed, just like it would be on a real dolphin, to make the movements feel more lifelike.

Edge Innovations

The body and mechanics, according to the engineers, can easily survive for 10 years in salt water, depending on how active it is under the water, but 10 years isn¡¯t bad.

This robotic dolphin will soon be a part of a new attraction at a Chinese aquarium after the government stopped wildlife trade due to COVID-19 pandemic.

And with creatures looking and moving so realistically, why would one need to get a real-life dolphin to suffer in the confines of a glass shut aquarium? And the advantages are surely present -- it doesn't eat, doesn¡¯t get sick (although engineers will need to be present for maintenance) and best of all, it¡¯s ethical.

See the robotic dolphin in action.

Would you prefer seeing a life-like robotic dolphin at an aquarium rather than the real one trapped for your entertainment? Tell us in the comments below.