A few months ago, Germany-based industrial control and automation company Festo unveiled the BionicWheelBot. Inspired by the Moroccan flic-flic spider, which flees by performing a series of forward or backward flips, the robotic design can walk and roll with ease.
Now, the company has released an autonomous aquatic design dubbed the BionicFinWave, emulating the movements of the cuttlefish.
In particular, designers were interested in how the fish uses its fins to generate a continuous wave that spans its entire length. As the fins move in this undulating pattern, water is push backward and thus creates forward thrust. BionicFinWave displays this ability by maneuvering through an underwater pipe labyrinth, gracefully flowing through all its twists and turns.
Watch it here.