Collaborative Research: IDBR: TYPE A: Development of Squishy Robot Hands for a Delicate, Effective and Non-Intrusive Approach to Studying Deep Coral Reefs

合作研究：IDBR：A 型：开发 Squishy 机器人手，以精致、有效且非侵入性的方式研究深部珊瑚礁

• 批准号: 1556164
• 负责人: Robert Wood
• 金额: $ 53.79万
• 依托单位: Harvard University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-04-15 至 2021-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1556164&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; IDBR; TYPE; Development

An award is made to Harvard University and the City University of New York to develop a new instrument for delicate underwater deep sea manipulation of soft or fragile organisms. Deep coral reefs, and deep sea environments in general, are hotspots for unique biological diversity and genetic adaptions that have only recently become accessible to scientists due to advances in remotely operated vehicle and submersible technology. Yet, while there is increasing access to these environments, biological collection and the molecular biology and biochemical analysis of these environments is still highly challenging. One source of this challenge is the robotic collection arms currently used in these environments. Commercially-available deep sea manipulation systems are designed to perform heavy mechanical work (i.e., construction or pipeline maintenance) and are not geared to perform delicate tasks, such as the collection of fragile biological specimens. Details for the design and construction of this instrument will be made available to the public. The new instrument is based on soft robots and will enable unparalleled sampling in the deep sea environment. This new instrument will be mounted to remotely operated vehicles and will mimic the operator's arm and hand motions for quick, nimble, and delicate interactions. Feedback to the user, integration of soft structures at multiple scales, and the development of a hair-like feedback and actuator control system that will prevent damage to fragile samples are key aspects in this novel robotic arm. The non-traditional bilateral control software and underwater actuators are innovative, and the modular design with multiple grippers makes this system extremely flexible for wide range of biological sampling. The gripping surface will incorporate micro scale surface textures that minimize damage to delicate biological samples. The long term robustness of this instrument in such harsh deep sea environments is also an important feature. By sampling this mostly unknown environment the instrumentation will benefit the molecular and cellular biology, marine biology, and biochemistry research communities.

哈佛大学和纽约城市大学获得了一个奖项，以开发一种新的仪器，用于在水下深海操纵柔软或脆弱的生物。深海珊瑚礁，以及一般的深海环境，是独特的生物多样性和遗传适应性的热点，直到最近，由于远程操作车辆和潜水技术的进步，科学家们才得以进入这些领域。然而，尽管越来越多的人可以进入这些环境，但这些环境的生物收集和分子生物学和生化分析仍然极具挑战性。这一挑战的一个来源是目前在这些环境中使用的机器人收集臂。商业上可用的深海操纵系统是为执行重型机械工作（即建筑或管道维护）而设计的，并不适合执行复杂的任务，例如收集易碎的生物标本。这一仪器的设计和建造细节将向公众公布。新仪器基于软体机器人，将在深海环境中进行无与伦比的采样。这种新仪器将安装在远程操作车辆上，并将模仿操作员的手臂和手部动作，以实现快速、灵活和微妙的交互。对用户的反馈，多尺度软结构的集成，以及毛发状反馈和致动器控制系统的开发，将防止损坏脆弱的样品是这种新型机械臂的关键方面。非传统的双边控制软件和水下执行器是创新的，具有多个抓手的模块化设计使该系统非常灵活，可以进行大范围的生物采样。夹持表面将包含微尺度表面纹理，以最大限度地减少对精致生物样品的损害。该仪器在如此恶劣的深海环境中的长期稳健性也是一个重要特征。通过对这一未知环境的采样，该仪器将有利于分子和细胞生物学、海洋生物学和生物化学研究界。