Soft Robotic Grippers for Biological Sampling on Deep Reefs.
This article presents the development of an underwater gripper that utilizes soft robotics technology to delicately manipulate and sample fragile species on the deep reef. Existing solutions for deep sea robotic manipulation have historically been driven by the oil industry, resulting in destructive interactions with undersea life. Soft material robotics relies on compliant materials that are inherently impedance matched to natural environments and to soft or fragile organisms. We demonstrate design principles for soft robot end effectors, bench-top characterization of their grasping performance, and conclude by describingin situtesting at mesophotic depths. The result is the first use of soft robotics in the deep sea for the nondestructive sampling of benthic fauna.
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University , Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Kevin C
KC
Galloway
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University , Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Kaitlyn P
KP
Becker
Department of Ocean Engineering, University of Rhode Island , Narragansett, Rhode Island.
Brennan
B
Phillips
Department of Ocean Engineering, University of Rhode Island , Narragansett, Rhode Island.
Jordan
J
Kirby
Department of Ocean Engineering, University of Rhode Island , Narragansett, Rhode Island.
Stephen
S
Licht
Leon Charney School of Marine Sciences, Haifa University , Haifa, Israel .
Dan
D
Tchernov
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.; Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Robert J
RJ
Wood
Department of Natural Sciences, Baruch College, City University of New York, New York, New York.; American Museum of Natural History, Sackler Institute of Comparative Genomics, New York, New York.
David F
DF
Gruber