A squid robot that propels itself by sucking and ejecting water has been designed by engineers at a university in California.

Michael Tolley, professor at the University of California San Diego, said they took inspiration from the marine animal’s way of moving in the sea.

They called the innovation “Squidbot” a wordplay at squid and robot. Squidbot is currently used to take clear photos and videos of marine animals disguised as the tentacled animal.

By moving quickly and being disguised as another animal, it can get into places that other equipment struggle with.

The squid robot is made of soft materials such as acrylic polymer to allow it to glide gracefully underwater, mimicking the movement of a squid.

The parts were designed before being 3D-printed and then cut with a laser for precision.

Professor Tolley said: ''This is the first untethered robot that can generate jet pulses for rapid locomotion like the squid and can achieve these jet pulses by changing its body shape, which improves swimming efficiency.

''Essentially, we recreated all the key features that squids use for high-speed swimming.''

The team of academics and researchers that designed Squidbot is now looking to innovate the idea as a new form of propulsion. They said the robot moves at a speed at about 18 to 32 centimeters per second.

Caleb Christianson, a senior medical devices engineering at San Diego-based Dexcom, said: ''After we were able to optimize the design of the robot so that it would swim in a tank in the lab, it was especially exciting to see that the robot was able to successfully swim in a large aquarium among coral and fish, demonstrating its feasibility for real-world applications.''