John Downer Productions used a robotic iguana to not only dive for food with its real-life counterpart, but also spy on them. It first started out just observing them on a rock in the Caribbean before everyone decided to go for a swim.
Researchers use the Husky UGV to spy on penguins in Antarctica, while John Downer Productions employed this robot pig to infiltrate that swimming pigs of the Bahamas for David Tennant’s BBC/PBS series Spy in the Ocean. Why are there pigs here? Well, legend has it that they swam to the island from a nearby shipwreck.
Caltech researchers have developed biohybrid robotic jellyfish, or devices that have been augmented electronics to further enhance their swimming as well as a prosthetic “hat”. The latter is used to transport a small payload while also making the jellyfish swim in a more streamlined manner.
Photo credit: Carlos Gauna/The Malibu Artist
Wildlife filmmaker Carlos Gauna and UC Riverside biology doctoral student Phillip Sternes may have captured the first ever images of a newborn great white shark using a drone. The two were scanning the waters for sharks on July 9, 2023, near Santa Barbara on California’s central coast when they spotted something they’ve never come across before.
We have seen the future of pet doors, and it’s this Flappie AI cat door. That’s right, it utilizes artificial intelligence to recognize various objects, such as birds or mice, that cats may bring home as prey. If these objects are detected, the flap remains closed and prevents your pet from bringing the prey into the house.
Virtual reality goggles for mice just might be the strangest VR gadget yet, but researchers at Northwestern University have found that they could be quite useful in the right setting. When placed on a mouse and given a choice to either run on a treadmill or be given a treat reward, they often choose the former.
Mark Rober’s 250-foot elephant toothpaste volcano was a sight to behold, but once set in motion, the experiment concluded far too quickly. His latest project was creating a 9-part underwater obstacle course for his pet octopus that was a bit more complicated.