Scientists figure out how to fish with invisible and painless robots
American researchers have developed a new innovative way of catching fish without damaging them.
Reported by the Nature Communications Journal on 1 February 2017, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, created a transparent, gel-based robot which can capture and let go of live fish.
The robots are made of hydrogel, a tough, rubbery, nearly transparent material that consists mainly of water. When water is pumped into the robots they quickly inflate and are able to curl up or stretch out.
Although the researchers are currently looking to adapt the robots for medical purposes, they are near invisible and have the ability to capture live fish, so the robots could perhaps be used by commercial fishers one day.
The researchers have spent the past five years developing recipes for the hydro gels used to create the robots. The robots are also very soft so they do not damage any fish they capture.
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