This Norwegian Undersea Snakebot Wriggles Through Obstacles

A snake is the shortest animal between two points. At least, that seems to be the thinking behind this aquatic snakebot. Built as a collaboration between Norwegian maritime and defense technology giant Kongsberg, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and Norway's Statoil energy company, the Eelume robot is a tethered undersea snake with jets, made to go where humans simply can't. Here's what the untethered concept looked like: At its head, there's a light and a grasper, which would allow the robot to turn dials, pull levers, or otherwise manipulate objects under the sea like a disembodied diver's arm. That makes it especially useful for inspecting and repairing oil rigs, or other underwater structures (like lost Loch Ness Monster props).