Bacteria-inspired robot uses 12 spinning flagella to roam underwater

An underwater robot can delicately propel itself in any direction with its 12 flexible arms, inspired by the flagella of bacteria. Its creators claim it can carry out underwater inspections without endangering humans or wildlife, as propeller-driven robots would.

Flagella are tiny, hair-like protrusions found on many bacteria that can spin clockwise or counterclockwise to create propulsion. “[Bacteria] have something called a biological motor, which rotates this elongated structure, and this elongated structure produces thrust, and that’s how bacteria is propelled,” says Anup Teejo Mathew at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi,…