The robotic fish kept alone in a tank at the University of Maryland, College Park doesn't dazzle with its agility or speed, but it does promise bigger things to come.
At the flick of a switch, water flows through the tank. The faceless gray plastic creature less than a foot long knows this, and you know that it knows this because it slides languidly from side to side to shelter behind a white plastic pipe, minimizing its energy use.
