Scientists invent invisible underwater robots based on eels – but with hands that can catch fish

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Invisible underwater robots – based on eels but equipped with hands that can catch fish – have been invented by a team of scientists. open image in gallery A nearly invisible gel robot approaches then grabs a fish open image in gallery The robot, whose outline has been highlighted, grasps the fish gently, then releases it unharmed The scientists behind the project, Professor Xuanhe Zhao and graduate student Hyunwoo Yuk of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, created a number of different types of the robot, including a fin-like structure that can flap back and forth, a leg that can make kicking motions and a hand-like structure. “We are actively collaborating with medical groups to translate this system into soft manipulators such as hydrogel ‘hands’, which could potentially apply more gentle manipulations to tissues and organs in surgical operations.” Mr Yuk said they had been inspired to make the robots by glass eels, which make long journeys across the Atlantic that might leave them open to attack by predators. “And we wanted to achieve a similar level of transparency, force, and speed.” The researchers said when placed in water against a coloured background, the robots were almost completely camouflaged.