It is the first of its kind – a robotic fish that mimics the speed and movements of a yellowfin tuna. Dubbed'Tunabot', this aquatic machine can reach a maximum tail beat frequency of 15 hertz enabling it to swim 15 inches per second. Researchers are hoping this creation will lead to the development of more powerful and efficient propulsion systems. 'Tunabot' is aquatic inspired robot is nearly 10 inches long and can reach a maximum tail beat frequency of 15 hertz – enabling it to swim 15 inches per second. The robotic fish was developed by a team of mechanical engineers at the University of Virginia's School or Engineering, with a collaboration of biologists from Harvard University.

A tuna-inspired robot can wriggle just as fast as real fish and swim faster than most other robots of its type. This "Tunabot" could help us learn how fish use their fins and may someday be used for underwater surveillance. Hilary Bart-Smith at the University of Virginia and her colleagues built Tunabot from 3D-printed steel and resin, covered in stretchy plastic skin. It is designed to mimic an adolescent tuna, but without any fins other than the tail, and is about 25 centimetres long. The team chose to model the robot after a tuna because the fish can swim extremely fast with high energy efficiency.