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Researchers have built a robotic fish that has all the right moves — it can go forward and backward, like other underwater robots, and shoot up vertically almost instantaneously. The technology could pave the way for more nimble robots that perform recovery operations and provide for long-term monitoring of coral reefs.

The robot — called Ghostbot — has 32 motors that give independent control to 32 artificial fin rays on the Lycra-covered artificial fin.