Marine Robotics for Deep-Sea Specimen Collection: A Taxonomy of Underwater Manipulative Actions.

A Louise Allcock,Simonepietro Canese,Marcello Calisti,Marco Controzzi,Jacopo Aguzzi,Michela Angiolillo,Fabrizio Vecchi,Sergio Stefanni,Angela Mazzeo

doi:10.3390/s22041471

Abstract

In order to develop a gripping system or control strategy that improves scientific sampling procedures, knowledge of the process and the consequent definition of requirements is fundamental. Nevertheless, factors influencing sampling procedures have not been extensively described, and selected strategies mostly depend on pilots’ and researchers’ experience. We interviewed 17 researchers and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) technical operators, through a formal questionnaire or in-person interviews, to collect evidence of sampling procedures based on their direct field experience. We methodologically analyzed sampling procedures to extract single basic actions (called atomic manipulations). Available equipment, environment and species-specific features strongly influenced the manipulative choices. We identified a list of functional and technical requirements for the development of novel end-effectors for marine sampling. Our results indicate that the unstructured and highly variable deep-sea environment requires a versatile system, capable of robust interactions with hard surfaces such as pushing or scraping, precise tuning of gripping force for tasks such as pulling delicate organisms away from hard and soft substrates, and rigid holding, as well as a mechanism for rapidly switching among external tools.

Highlights

The versatility of the human hand in manipulation is still barely emulated by robotic grippers [1,2]
In this paper, we investigated the manipulative actions needed in underwater manipulation for the collection of scientific samples
Nine had never directly participated in a campaign in which samples were collected with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV); Eight declared they were not available for further collaboration; Seven were sent the Step 2 questionnaire; Twenty were contacted to schedule the Step 2 interview

Summary

Introduction

The versatility of the human hand in manipulation is still barely emulated by robotic grippers [1,2]. Industry 4.0 is pushing toward flexibility and reconfigurability in robotic design and manipulation task planning [4,5]. Bringing human manipulation capabilities to harsh environments is a challenge that must overcome traditional design and robotic concepts [2], and presents a multidisciplinary problem. It involves, for example, a choice of design materials that can withstand particular conditions, additional dynamic components that must be accounted for in control architecture, sensory redundancy to counteract the occurrence of any occlusion (e.g., [6]), management of communication issues, and so on. In the case of teleoperated systems, manipulation possibilities depend on embodiment, control algorithms, proper human–machine interface, and the teleoperator experience; in the case of autonomous manipulation, they depend on the way decision capabilities are implemented in a manipulation task planner

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Conclusion