Stanford Creates "Robotic Mermaid" To Help With Deep Sea Exploration

Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), have been used to conduct undersea tasks, deemed unsafe for humans, for many years. But while they have been very useful at tackling projects like oil rig repairs, the vehicles lack the finesse and dexterity required to handle fragile missions like monitoring coral reefs. Their traditional boxy shape also makes it difficult for the robots to penetrate small areas without damaging the surrounding flora. Now thanks to Stanford University's mermaid robot, OceanOne, these shortcomings may be a thing of the past.