Carnegie Mellon Researchers Develop Soft Robot Inspired by Extinct Sea Creature

The underwater soft robot, modeled after the pleurocystitid, aims to enhance underwater surveying and machine repairs.

Carnegie Mellon University researchers have created an underwater soft robot inspired by the pleurocystitid, an extinct sea creature that lived around 500 million years ago.
The robot's design, based on CT scans and mobility simulations of the pleurocystitid's fossilized remains, features a tail-like structure for improved underwater maneuverability.
The development introduces a new field of study called paleobionics, which uses Earth's ancient animal past to guide future robotic creations.
Potential applications for the soft robot include surveying dangerous geological locations and assisting with underwater machine repairs.
The research team believes that future iterations of the robot could offer more agile movement, potentially revolutionizing underwater exploration and maintenance tasks.