The Virginian-Pilot reports that “Project Silent Nemo is under way this week at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, where a team of civilian engineers and military officers are testing the capabilities of a 5-foot, 100-pound experimental robot that’s designed to look and swim like a bluefin tuna.”  

The goal is “to get the little swimmer into enemy territory undetected to patrol and protect U.S. ships and ports from harm.”  

The piece continues: “The robotic fish glided through the harbor Thursday as sailors took turns controlling it with a joystick. It can also be programmed to swim on its own. The robot’s black dorsal fin poked above water as its tail wiggled back and forth, propelling it almost silently just below the surface.”  

“Nemo was developed by the Office of Naval Research and is being tested by the chief of naval operation’s Rapid Innovation Cell – a group of junior Navy and Marine Corps officers tasked with putting emerging technologies to use for the military. The same group has been playing around with 3D printers, augmented-reality glasses and about 10 other breakthrough gadgets.”