Sea creatures inspire marine robots which can operate in extra-terrestrial oceans: Scientists at the University of Bristol have drawn on the design and life of a mysterious zooplankton to develop underwater robots. These robotic units called RoboSalps, after their animal namesakes, have been engineered to operate in unknown and extreme environments such as extra-terrestrial oceans. Although salps resemble jellyfish with their semi-transparent barrel-shaped bodies, they belong to the family of Tunicata and have a complex life cycle, changing between solitary and aggregate generations where they connect to form colonies. RoboSalps have similarly light, tubular bodies and can link to each
Zooplankton inspire marine robots as seen on The Hippocratic Post.