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.

授予哈佛大学和纽约城市大学，以开发一种新的工具，用于微妙的水下深海操纵柔软或脆弱的生物。深层珊瑚礁和一般海洋环境是独特的生物学多样性和遗传适应的热点，由于远程操作的车辆和潜水技术的进步，科学家们最近才能进入科学家。然而，尽管越来越多地进入这些环境，但对这些环境的生物收集以及分子生物学和生化分析仍然是高度挑战的。这个挑战的一个来源是当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旨在执行重型机械工作（即建筑或管道维护），并且不适合执行精致的任务，例如脆弱的生物标本的收集。该乐器设计和构建的详细信息将向公众提供。 新仪器基于软机器人，将在深海环境中实现无与伦比的采样。该新仪器将安装以远程操作的车辆，并模仿操作员的手臂和手动运动，以进行快速，灵活和微妙的互动。向用户的反馈，在多个尺度上的软结构集成，以及类似头发的反馈和执行器控制系统的开发，该系统将防止损坏脆弱的样品，这是这个新型机器人臂的关键方面。非传统的双边控制软件和水下执行器具有创新性，带有多个握把的模块化设计使该系统极为灵活，可用于广泛的生物学采样。抓地力表面将结合微尺度的表面纹理，以最大程度地减少对精致生物样品的损害。这种乐器在如此苛刻的深海环境中的长期鲁棒性也是一个重要特征。通过对这个大多数未知环境进行取样，仪器将使分子和细胞生物学，海洋生物学和生物化学研究社区受益。