DARPA is trying out all kinds of tricks to give humans the powers of animals. Take this fin-like gadget, Powerswim. It's a "human-powered swimming device" that could be used by combat or reconnaissance divers:
This program explores a new concept in swimming propulsion that uses the same oscillating foil approach to swimming that is exhibited by many fish and aquatic birds. This propulsion approach is more than 85-percent efficient in conversion of human motions to forward propulsion. Typical recreational swim fins are no more than 10-percent efficient in their conversion of human exertion to propulsive power. This dramatic improvement in swimming efficiency will enable subsurface swimmers to move up to two-and-a-half times faster than is currently possible, thus improving swimmer performance, safety, and range.
Apparently, combat swimmers can only go about 4.5 miles before fatigue sets in; the biologically-inspired "oscillating foil" could double that distance. The company building the Powerswim, DEKA, is the same company that developed the Segway.
Writing over at Ares (and thanks for the photo, too!), Bill Sweetman notes that getting Navy SEALS to adopt this technology may not be that easy.
"They're used to working hard, and if it doesn't hurt they don't think they're doing the job - but then we say, 'when have you ever swum above two knots?'." Another defense source observes: "SEALs are like Catholic school - if it doesn't hurt it's not good for you."
