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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 2, 2025

Rod-based Fabrication of Customizable Soft Robotic Pneumatic Gripper Devices for Delicate Tissue Manipulation

Rod-based Fabrication of Customizable Soft Robotic Pneumatic Gripper Devices for Delicate Tissue Manipulation

Published on: August 2, 2016

Ultragentle manipulation of delicate structures using a soft robotic gripper.

Nina R Sinatra¹, Clark B Teeple², Daniel M Vogt²

¹John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. sinatra.nina@gmail.com.

Science Robotics

|November 2, 2020

Summary

Researchers developed ultragentle soft robotic actuators for safely grasping delicate jellyfish and other soft-bodied marine life. This innovation enhances deep-sea sample collection and in situ ecological studies.

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Area of Science:

Marine Biology
Robotics
Biomimetics

Background:

Current soft robotic manipulators struggle to grasp fragile, soft-bodied deep-sea organisms like jellyfish.
Existing deep-sea sampling devices can cause damage to delicate specimens.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and evaluate ultragentle soft robotic actuators for nondestructive grasping of gelatinous marine life.
To improve deep-sea sample collection techniques for fragile organisms.

Main Methods:

Designed and tested nanofiber-reinforced soft actuators for low contact pressure.
Built and evaluated an underwater gripper prototype with multiple actuators.
Assessed grasping performance, region of acquisition, and robustness to external forces.
Demonstrated manipulation of live jellyfish species in a laboratory aquarium setting.

Main Results:

Nanofiber-reinforced soft actuators apply sufficiently low pressure to avoid harming jellyfish.
The developed gripper successfully manipulated three live jellyfish species.
The study provided insights into precision and speed required for successful sample collection.

Conclusions:

The ultragentle gripper represents a significant advancement over existing deep-sea sampling devices for delicate specimens.
This technology has the potential to improve in situ ecological and genetic studies of deep-sea organisms.