Ever have underground cables that need quick repair but have no implement to help? Well fear no more!
Designed by Amos Winter, a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, the robot takes pointers from the Atlantic razor clam a large mollusk found along the Atlantic coast of North America. Through analyzing how it burrows through muddy soil in their coastal habitats, researchers developed a machine that could eventually aid in a variety of underwater tasks.
In trials, the RoboClam has burrowed to a maximum depth of nearly 8 inches (20 cm). The real clams can dig to a depth of about 27.5 inches (70 cm), but the current robotic prototype is limited in its reach because its motors sit above the surface of the water.
In the future, this device could be used not only for digging for underground cables, but also for general anchoring boats, for laying underwater cable, for blowing up underwater mines or for setting sensors in the ocean
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