Photo: Manta Ray (Manta birostris) at Hin Daeng, Thailand.SOURCE Wikimedia Commons

from the Grind TV Blog

Wednesday, August 15, 2012 6:33pm PDT

By: Shannon Dybvig

Behold Mantabot! Engineers at the University of Virginia have crafted a seaworthy mechanical ray that may usher in the next generation of autonomous oceangoing robots. Inspired by our favorite undersea flyer, the robot ray mimics the graceful flap and glide swim style of batoid rays, a group that includes stingrays and manta rays. . . . Read Complete Report