Hollywood special effects gurus are developing some-fin special to revamp ailing marine parks – robotic dolphins. Along with animatronics experts they aim to make a lifesize bottlenose dolphin that looks identical to its living counterpart.
Special effects artist Walt Conti – behind big screen sea creatures like Free Willy and Flipper – has helped to develop a 42-stone prototype that swims for 10 continuous hours on a single battery charge.
It also has yellow-stained teeth and a test audience in China was unable to guess it was not real. Developers hope the £21million robot will be an ethical alternative to keeping real dolphins.
Read more on mirror.co.uk