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

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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.