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. 2018 Aug 1;13(8):e0200386.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200386. eCollection 2018.

Shipboard design and fabrication of custom 3D-printed soft robotic manipulators for the investigation of delicate deep-sea organisms

Daniel M Vogt  1   2 , Kaitlyn P Becker  1   2 , Brennan T Phillips  3 , Moritz A Graule  1   2 , Randi D Rotjan  4 , Timothy M Shank  5 , Erik E Cordes  6 , Robert J Wood  1   2 , David F Gruber  7   8
Affiliations

Shipboard design and fabrication of custom 3D-printed soft robotic manipulators for the investigation of delicate deep-sea organisms

Daniel M Vogt et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Soft robotics is an emerging technology that has shown considerable promise in deep-sea marine biological applications. It is particularly useful in facilitating delicate interactions with fragile marine organisms. This study describes the shipboard design, 3D printing and integration of custom soft robotic manipulators for investigating and interacting with deep-sea organisms. Soft robotics manipulators were tested down to 2224m via a Remotely-Operated Vehicle (ROV) in the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) and facilitated the study of a diverse suite of soft-bodied and fragile marine life. Instantaneous feedback from the ROV pilots and biologists allowed for rapid re-design, such as adding "fingernails", and re-fabrication of soft manipulators at sea. These were then used to successfully grasp fragile deep-sea animals, such as goniasterids and holothurians, which have historically been difficult to collect undamaged via rigid mechanical arms and suction samplers. As scientific expeditions to remote parts of the world are costly and lengthy to plan, on-the-fly soft robot actuator printing offers a real-time solution to better understand and interact with delicate deep-sea environments, soft-bodied, brittle, and otherwise fragile organisms. This also offers a less invasive means of interacting with slow-growing deep marine organisms, some of which can be up to 18,000 years old.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Comparison between traditional and in-field manufacturing of soft manipulators.
The ability to iterate the design and fabricate actuators in-field is key to enable adaptations to specific and unanticipated challenges found in unstructured, remote environments (indicated by the blue background).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Research vessel and the remotely operated underwater vehicle.
A: R/V Falkor. B: ROV SuBastian.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Soft manipulator setup on the ROV.
A: The soft manipulators are installed on the retractable tray of the ROV. B: The manifold, pump, control bottle, and accumulator are installed on the port rear side. These were developed as part of a previous study [9].
Fig 4
Fig 4. Full schematic of the soft manipulator setup.
Hydraulic (solid black line) and electrical connections (dashed red lines) are represented. This setup is similar to the one used in [9].
Fig 5
Fig 5. A traditionally laboratory-fabricated soft manipulator.
A: Open/deflated configuration. B: Closed/inflated configuration.
Fig 6
Fig 6. 3D printing soft actuators.
Example of printing a soft bellows out of TPU.
Fig 7
Fig 7. Fully 3D printed soft manipulator.
The orange and blue parts are printed with (flexible) TPU, black parts are printed with (hard) PLA.
Fig 8
Fig 8. Modified three fingers soft manipulator.
Modified three-finger soft manipulator converted to a two-finger version to allow pinch and power grasps.
Fig 9
Fig 9. Various types of grasping and comparison with a human hand.
A & C: A power grasp allows to pick up large objects. B & D: Pinch grasp allows more dexterity to pick up small objects.
Fig 10
Fig 10. A challenging grasping situation.
An aplacophoran mollusc at the base of a delicate coral was difficult to grasp without damaging the coral.
Fig 11
Fig 11. Challenges when grasping brittle specimens with hard bodied manipulators.
A: Coral rubble (depth: 616m, S1 Video). B: Enallopsammia sp. coral (depth: 434m).
Fig 12
Fig 12. Examples of grasping sea cucumber (Holothuria).
A: On a sandy substrate (depth: 2224m). B: On a rocky substrate (depth: 1282m).
Fig 13
Fig 13. Difficulties in grasping.
Example of orienting the manipulator horizontally or perpendicularly from a deep-sea mushroom coral (Anthomastus sp., depth: 1282m).
Fig 14
Fig 14. Sampling with a 3D printed soft manipulator designed and constructed on-board the ship.
A & B: a goniasterid (depth: 1162m). C & D: a holothurian (depth: 843m).
Fig 15
Fig 15. The multi-mode gripper could be used successfully for sampling several sea creatures.
A & B: pinch grasp on a holothurian (depth: 843m). C & D: a power grasp on a hexactinellid sponge (depth: 1361m).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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