A world-first soft robotic 'hand', developed by researchers at CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, could revolutionise the delicate, labour-intensive process of cultivating baby corals in laboratories, offering a groundbreaking approach to coral restoration efforts.
The robotic hand, or gripper, was designed to be attached to a coral farming robot called Coral Husbandry Automated Raceway Machine (CHARM).
CHARM and the Beyond Coral Foundation aim to deploy this technology in aquariums and coral farms worldwide, enabling the large-scale production of coral to restore reefs.
A close collaboration between CSIRO and CHARM, the project is part of CSIRO's Kick-Start program, which offers dollar-matched funding and access to research expertise to Australian start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Dr Josh Pinskier, CSIRO Soft Robotics Scientist in CSIRO's Data61, said the project aims to partially automate the time-consuming process of coral propagation.
"Cultivating hundreds or thousands of baby coral colonies in the lab demands significant effort and precise handing," Dr Pinskier said.
"Each coral must be carefully transferred between tanks to maintain ideal growing conditions, a process currently managed entirely by hand.
"This gripper replicates the dexterity of a human hand, allowing it to handle delicate coral tissue without damaging them, while being strong enough to lift various sizes.
"By automating this process, we can contribute to broader global efforts to scale coral farming and help restore the world's reefs."
The grippers were designed using CSIRO's AI-powered generative design algorithms, which identified the optimal structures to safely and effectively handle delicate coral.
Sarah Baldwin, a Mechatronics Engineer who conducted this research while at CSIRO, said the gripper design was innovative due to traditional robotics' unsuitability in corrosive saltwater.
"To overcome corrosion, we 3D printed the gripper from hard polymer and soft rubber, with only a few screws and bolts," Ms Baldwin said.
Stephen Rodan, inventor of CHARM and President of Beyond Coral Foundation, emphasised the groundbreaking nature of the project.
"This is the first time in history that a robot apparatus ever picked up a coral and transferred it safely between tanks using a soft robotic gripper of this kind," Mr Rodan said.
The gripper is just one of several attachments CHARM can support, alongside tools such as a soft brush for removing algae, further streamlining coral farming operations.
Mr Rodan said the partnership with CSIRO provided the specialised engineering capability needed to advance Beyond Coral Foundation's reef restoration efforts.
"The next challenge is placing the corals back in their natural habitat, and a well-designed gripper could facilitate the transition from growth to deployment," Mr Rodan said.
CHARM retains the intellectual property of the project.
