Robotic Stingray Powered By Rat Cells

The Robotic Stingray might sound like a new Sci-Fi movie, but this is realer than a $5 movie theater Diet Coke. Researchers designed this robo-ray to accurately mimic the movements of real stingrays.The fin contracts downward when a layer of rat muscle cells along the top of the ray are stimulated with lights. Stored energy causes the fins to move upward. Asymmetrical pulses of light direct the stingray to turn left or right. Different frequencies of light change the stingray’s speed. At only 16 millimeters long, it’s much less fearsome than the sort stingray you’d find in the wild.