Soft Robotic Grippers for Biological Sampling on Deep Reefs

By Kevin C. Galloway, Kaitlyn P. Becker, Brennan T. Phillips, Jordan Kirby, S. Licht, D. Tchernov, Robert J. Wood, David F. Gruber. Soft Robotics, 2016

804 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract 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 describing in situ testing at mesophotic depths. The result is the first use of soft robotics in the deep sea for the nondestructive sampling of benthic fauna.

Subfields: Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Ocean Engineering

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/0c3e6e3cebe45bb7cf5a367f4c168ba2e87d79a4

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In Biomedical Engineering

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Daniela Rus

Citations in the corpus

High-Force Soft Printable Pneumatics for Soft Robotic Applications (2016, neutral): “( 3) Reduce the area of overhangs.”
MakeSense: Automated Sensor Design for Proprioceptive Soft Robots (2019, background): “These technologies are enabling functional materials and fully-functional robots 16,17,18,19 that show potential in applications including deep-sea exploration 20 , search-and-rescue 21,22 , surgical robotics 23 , grasping 24 , and prosthetics and wearable devices 25,26,27 .”
Fluid-driven origami-inspired artificial muscles (2017, background): “This technique allows us to quickly program, fabricate, and implement actuation systems for very specific working environments at multiple scales, such as active metamaterials (44), miniature surgical devices (45, 46), wearable robotic exoskeletons (47), transformable architecture, as well as deep-s”
Ultragentle manipulation of delicate structures using a soft robotic gripper (2019, methodology): “, coral and sea stars) by decreasing grip force while increasing pressure distribution (26).”
Soft Robotics: A Review of Recent Developments of Pneumatic Soft Actuators (2020, background): “The current use of technology utilized by soft robotics is detrimental to the study and research of Deep Coral Reefs [109].”