£21million robots could mark end of whales and dolphins at marine parks
HOLLYWOOD robotic experts are developing some-fin special to revamp ailing marine parks – fake Flippers.
They plan to make lifesize bottlenose dolphins that look identical to the real thing.
And the developers hope the £21million robots will be an ethical alternative to keeping live dolphins.
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. A test audience in China was unable to guess it was not real.
Roger Holzberg, a Californiabased designer and former creative director at Walt Disney, said: “The marine park industry has had falling revenues for over a decade due to ethical concerns and the cost of live animals, yet public hunger to learn about and experience these animals is as strong as ever.
“We believe it’s time to reimagine this industry and this approach can be more humane and more profitable.”
He is working with Mr Conti, who founded Edge Innovations, which developed the prototype as an educational tool.
It is now pitching it to aquariums in China, as the country aims to clamp down on its wildlife trade. Edge claims robot dolphins cost four times as much as normal ones but last longer and are cheaper to keep. It hopes to sell up to 150 in the next three years. Elisa Allen, UK director of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said wild dolphins swim “up to 40 miles a day and live in tightknit family groups” while in captivity they are confined to pools filled with chemically-treated water.
She added: “In 2020, cuttingedge technology allows us to experience nature without harming it.”
Real killer whale show
Camera shoots the fake Flipper