Meet the Robolobster, designer Joseph Ayers' aptly named robotic lobster. This cute imitation crustacean can't pinch your toes, but in many other ways it acts just like a lobster. It's controlled by an electronic nervous system that mimics that of a lobster, so it can sneak across the ocean floor with the flexibility and agility of the real thing. It was designed to detect underwater mines, collect marine biology data, and test water for pollution — making the it kind of an undersea cousin to those chemical-sniffing robot dogs we saw a few months back.

The Robolobster is on display now at the Design Life Now show at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City. Even though it's not for home use, or even for sale, we'd definitely like to keep one of these critters trolling for invaders in our (imaginary) swimming pool. So long as said invaders don't bring any lobster traps. — S.E. Kramer

Design Life Now, via SlashGear