Soft underwater robot could be used to survey coral reefs

A new roboray that could survey the oceans coral reefs has been designed by researchers. The bot was modeled after manta rays and is made of transparent silicon parts which are mostly invisible to other marine life. The robot could be used for exploration studies, including examining shipwrecks without damaging them. The robot, designed by researchers based at Zhejiang University in China, can swim at a speed of 6.4 centimeters (2.5 inches) per second, or 0.69 body lengths per second. This is slower than similar sized fish, who typically swim four times faster.