Jellyfish swim, birds fly as robots take off

Robo-Shark in action

An unmanned intelligent bionic shark diving vessel named Robo-Shark has been used for several industrial applications. Developed by Robosea, a Beijing company, these robots resemble large submersed sharks.

The Robo-Shark can be used in several fields such as environmental protection and to test water quality. Last year, a scientific research institute used the bionic robot to collect hydrological information in specific marine areas near Qingdao, Shandong province, according to Robosea.

Several major data collections, including information about sea salinity, temperature and depth, as well as undersea noise, have also been gathered and analyzed.

Some aquariums also adopted the Robo-Shark to replace real sharks for exhibition purposes.

Fu Yuhan, chief operating officer for Robosea, said the sharks' three-joint bionic tail fins are their sole source of power, and a special sound-absorbent material is used for the coating, enabling them to operate underwater with little noise.

"This largely helps them to dive to the bottom without disturbing other marine creatures," she said."As a result, the robots can work quite smoothly."