A tiny deep sea robot took a dive into Earths deepest trench

Scientists at China's Beihang University developed a tiny morphable robot to explore the ocean's depths -- and it's now taken a dive into the Mariana Trench. The team successfully demonstrated that its creation can swim, crawl, and glide untethered at a depth of 10,600 meters (34,776 feet) in Earth's deepest oceanic trench, located in the Pacific Ocean. Separately, the researchers also developed a soft gripper, which can be attached to a rigid robot. It was tested in the South China Sea, where the team attached it to an arm on a submersible, which they sent 3,400 metres (34,776 feet) deep. There, the gripper collected small marine creatures, such as starfish and urchins resting on the seafloor.