In order to reach top speeds under water most creatures, and vehicles, are sleek and streamlined—except cephalopods. Octopus and other cephalopods get up to top speed with their rigid outer bodies by quickly shooting out ingested water. Now engineers have taken the same idea and applied it to make a small underwater robot. The small octopus-like device is capable of accelerating at speeds never before achieved by a man made vehicle underwater—accelerating up to 10 body lengths in less than a second. Currently only a prototype has been developed. This new device could have vast implications for both underwater vehicles and any industry where drag is a factor, like aviation.
Octopus inspired underwater vehicle
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