Technologies

Yes, This Swimming RoboTurtle Is Adorable. It Also Has an Important Environmental Mission

Beatbot is best known for making pool-cleaning robots, but it was its swimming robot turtle that won our hearts at CES 2026.

Few things in life have made me feel more privileged and awestruck than the opportunity to swim with sea turtles in their natural environment. The way in which these gentle creatures navigate through their underwater world with their deliberate and careful fin strokes is utterly mesmerizing to watch.

It’s a distinctive style of movement — so much so that when I saw Beatbot’s RoboTurtle swim across a water tank on the show floor at CES 2026, I knew that this wasn’t simply just a pool cleaner robot with turtle features tacked on. This was a studied example of biomimicry in action.

The reason for this is that the company’s engineers went on a two-month expedition to study sea turtles in their natural environment, Beatbot’s Eduardo Campo told me as we watched Turtini (the team’s affectionate nickname for RoboTurtle) splash around in its pool. «We did a lot of motion capture, like the things they use in movies, because we need to develop those joints that it has,» he said.

This isn’t RoboTurtle’s first time at CES — it also appeared in 2025 as a static concept. This is the year, however, it’s found its fins, so to speak. Not only can it swim, but it can also respond to hand gestures: I throw it an OK gesture, and it dances in response. But as cute and limber as it is, RoboTurtle is a robot with an important mission.

RoboTurtle is an environmental research tool, built with input from researchers and NGOs, which can go where humans or other machines cannot for fear of disturbing complex and delicate underwater ecosystems, particularly coral reefs. It can move silently and naturally in a way that won’t scare wildlife, monitoring water quality and fish numbers with its built-in camera.

«One of the groups that we’re working with, they want to study the coral reefs in near Indonesia,» said Campo. «There was a very big incident over there with a boat that came up onto a coral reef and it disrupted the environment, [so] they want the least intrusive robot possible.»

The group wants to deploy RoboTurtle for certain periods every year to monitor the recovery of the coral and monitor the fish population, he added. Beatbot is currently training the built-in AI to give RoboTurtle monitoring and recognition skills.

At CES, I watched RoboTurtle paddle about only on the surface of the pool, but it can also dive down up to five meters. However, it needs to resurface to send data and its GPS signal back to base, much like a real turtle that needs to come to the surface to breathe. This also gives it a chance to recharge via the solar panel on its back.

Even though I was impressed with RoboTurtle’s swimming ability, Campo estimates that the Beatbot team is still a year and a half away from perfecting its technique, with the robot ready for full deployment in between three to five years.

CES 2026 is a show where tech with a real purpose feels scarce, so it sure is refreshing to see a company use its expertise to build something designed with a sustainable future in mind. It might be a while until we see RoboTurtle take to the seas, but I’m glad that I got to witness it at this stage of its journey.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, April 8

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 8.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Hint: It uses a lot of the letter Z for some reason. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: ___-Carlton (hotel chain)
Answer: RITZ

5A clue: Span of the alphabet
Answer: ATOZ

6A clue: Cable channel with an out-of-this-world name
Answer: STARZ

7A clue: Takes care of, as a squeaky wheel
Answer: OILS

8A clue: Toy on a string
Answer: YOYO

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: When a post receives far more negative comments than likes, in social media slang
Answer: RATIO

2D clue: World’s leading wine producer
Answer: ITALY

3D clue: Middle of the human body
Answer: TORSO

4D clue: Sleeping sound
Answer: ZZZ

6D clue: Tofu base
Answer: SOY

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 8, #562

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for April 8 No. 562.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Working out.

Green group hint: Cover your face.

Blue group hint: NFL players.

Purple group hint: Leap.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Exercises in singular form.

Green group: Sporting jobs that require masks.

Blue group: Hall of Fame defensive ends.

Purple group: ____ jump.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is exercises in singular form. The four answers are crunch, plank, situp and squat.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is sporting jobs that require masks. The four answers are catcher, fencer, football player and goaltender.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Hall of Fame defensive ends. The four answers are Dent, Peppers, Strahan and Youngblood.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ jump. The four answers are broad, high, long and triple.

Technologies

The $135M Google Data Settlement Site Is Live — See If You’re Eligible

Use the settlement website to select your preferred payment method, and you may end up $100 richer.

You can now file a claim in the $135 million Google data settlement. The case centers on claims that Android devices transmitted user data without consent. Specifically, the class action lawsuit Taylor v. Google LLC contends that Google’s Android devices passively transferred cellular data to Google without user permission, even when the devices were idle. While not admitting fault, Google reached a preliminary settlement in January, agreeing to pay $135 million to about 100 million US Android phone users.

The official settlement website for the lawsuit is now live. The final approval hearing won’t occur until June 23, when the court will consider whether Google’s settlement is fair and listen to objections. After that, the court will decide whether to approve the $135 million settlement.

In the meantime, if you qualify and want to be paid as part of the settlement, you can select your preferred payment method on the official website. There, you can find information on speaking at the June 23 court hearing and on how to exclude yourself or write to the court to object by May 29.

As part of the settlement, Google will update its Google Play terms of service to clarify that certain data transfers do occur passively even when you’re not using your Android device, and that cellular data may be relied upon when not connected to Wi-Fi. This can’t always be disabled, but users will be asked to consent to it when setting up their device.

Google will also fully stop collecting data when its «allow background data usage» option is toggled off.

Who can be part of the settlement?

In order to join the Taylor v. Google LLC settlement, you must meet four qualifications:

Be a living, individual human being in the US.
Have used an Android mobile device with a cellular data plan.
Have used the aforementioned device at any time from Nov. 12, 2017, to the date when the settlement receives final approval.
You’re not a class member in the Csupo v. Google LLC lawsuit, which is similar but specifically for California residents.

The final approval hearing is on June 23, so you can add your payment method until then. The hearing’s date and time may change, and any updates will be posted on the settlement website.

If you choose to do nothing, you will still be issued a settlement payment, but you may not receive it if you don’t select a payment method.

How much will I get paid?

It’s not currently known exactly how much each settlement class member will receive, but the cap is $100. Payments will be distributed after final court approval and after any appeals are resolved.

After all administrative, tax and attorney costs are paid, the settlement administrator will attempt to pay each member an equal amount. If any funds remain after payments are sent, and it’s economically feasible, they will be redistributed to members who were previously and successfully paid. If it’s not economically feasible, the funds will go to an organization approved by the court.