Technology

Two orcas socialising with each other.
Two orcas socialising with each other.

Drones reveal social lives of orcas

In the pre-drone days, researchers relied on their observations of the orcas when they surfaced, and this was understandably limited.

“Until now, research on killer whale social networks has relied on seeing the whales when they surface, and recording which whales are together," said lead author Michael Weiss, of the University of Exeter.

"Looking down into the water from a drone allowed us to see details such as contact between individual whales," he added.

Cephalopods’ colour-changing skin inspires shape-changing gel

Inspired by this, the engineers at Rutgers University–New Brunswick have developed a 3D-printed smart gel that changes shape when exposed to light, as well as a 3D-printed stretchy material that can reveal colours when the light changes.

A paper on the research has been published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Swimming with dolphins
Swimming with and learning from dolphins

Learning the swimming secrets of dolphins and whales

This scenario may one day become reality. And to be efficient, such robots would need to be maneuverable and stealthy, and be able to closely mimic the movements of the marine creatures.

Scientists like Keith W. Moored are working on the next generation of underwater robots by studying the movements of dolphins and whales. "We're studying how these animals are designed and what's beneficial about that design in terms of their swimming performance, or the fluid mechanics of how they swim."

The two creators of the COTSbot.

Fight against crown-of-thorns starfish goes hi-tech

Developed by roboticists from Queensland University of Technology, this is the world's first robot designed to search and destroy (so to speak) the dreaded crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS). It does this by seeking them out, identifying them and then administering a lethal injection of bile salts.

Its creators, Dr Matthew Dunbabin and Dr Feras Dayoub, equipped the robot with GPS, stereoscopic cameras for depth perception, thrusters to improve stability, pitch-and-roll sensors as well as the pneumatic injection arm.