They found that the clam first contracts its shell.

们发现蛏首先会收缩自己的外壳。

Fried razor clams with black beans, pork knuckle, typhoon shelter crab.

豉椒炒蛏、猪手、避风塘炒蟹。

The drag on the burrowing clam is dramatically reduced and it starts to really move.

这样就明显减少挖掘中蛏所受到的力并且真正实现向前移动。

These talents intrigued MIT researchers, who thought that a robotic version of the clam would have practical uses.

这一出众的才能引发了麻省研究人员们的兴趣，们认为如果研制出机器版本的蛏，实际大作为。

They believe that an energy-efficient Roboclam could anchor an autonomous underwater vehicle, search for mines or lay underwater cables.

们认为这样一种有效利用能量的机器蛏用于固定寻找矿藏或安放于海底电缆之类的自动设备。

But the razor clam could burrow a centimeter per second and go half a kilometer using only about a AA battery's worth of energy.

但是这种蛏能够每秒1厘米的速度并且只消耗相当于一节AA号电池的能量就挖掘半公里的深度。