Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) unveiled the robot with a flattened panel on one side that it can slide along an underwater surface to perform ultrasound scans.
Originally designed to look for cracks in nuclear reactors' water tanks, the robot could also inspect ships for the false hulls and propeller shafts that smugglers frequently use to hide contraband.
Because of its small size and unique propulsion mechanism - which leaves no visible wake - the robots could, in theory, be concealed in clumps of algae or other camouflage.
"It's very expensive for port security to use traditional robots for every small boat coming into the port," said Sampriti Bhattacharyya, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, who designed the robot together with her adviser, Ford Professor of Engineering Harry Asada.
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"If this is cheap enough - if I can get this out for USD 600, say - why not just have 20 of them doing collaborative inspection? And if it breaks, it's not a big deal. It's very easy to make," said Bhattacharyya.
The other half is permeable and houses the propulsion system, which consists of six pumps that expel water through rubber tubes.
Two of those tubes vent on the side of the robot opposite the flattened panel, so they can keep it pressed against whatever surface the robot is inspecting. The other four tubes vent in pairs at opposite ends of the robot's long axis and control its locomotion.
As Bhattacharyya explained, the elliptical shape of the robot is inherently unstable - by design.
That tendency to turn is an asset when the robot is trying to execute tight manoeuvres, but it's a liability when it's travelling in a straight line.
In the robot's watertight chamber are its control circuitry, its battery, a communications antenna, and an inertial measurement unit, which consists of three accelerometers and three gyroscopes that can gauge the robot's motion in any direction.