This Robotic Dolphin Could Mean the End of Dolphins in Captivity

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  via YouTube

  In theory, the idea of a robotic dolphin doesn't sound very alluring. But this dolphin shows just how far animatronics have come. Melanie Langlotz and Li Wang had the idea of creating a robotic dolphin after visiting an aquarium. But building something this technologically advanced wasn't easy, especially something that would have to operate in salt water. 

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  Eventually Roger Holzberg and Walt Conti, who made robotic animals for Star Trek and Jurassic World, got involved. They helped design 600 lb prototype that had a battery life of ten hours and could last in salt water for ten years. Not only the outside of the dolphin was made to look real - everything from the skeletal structure to the muscular interactions with it, to the weight deposits were true of a real adolescent bottlenose dolphin. In fact, the volunteers swimming with the prototype thought it was real until they were told that it was a robot. 

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  via YouTube

  After the success of the prototype, the group are now attempting to mass-produce the robotic dolphins and add a functional blowhole. They have already been approached by theme parks in China, where there are bans on wildlife trade. This could mean the end of holding dolphins in captivity - but not the end of human interactions with dolphins. 

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  via YouTube

  These robotic dolphins allow people to swim, play and interact with something as realistic as a real life dolphin - but it also means this can be done while leaving dolphins where they belong: in the wild. That sounds like a great use of technology to us. 

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