Scientists Made a Robotic Hand that are great at grabbing jellyfish

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Scientists created a robotic hand with a squishy grabber and a gentle grip that uses "fettuccini-like silicone fingers" to catch and release fragile, gelatinous jellyfish.

Jellyfish are 95 percent water.

They are one of the most delicate living organisms that can be held in a person's hands.

Interestingly, the tissue that makes up the 5 percent that isn't water has actually yielded impressive scientific discoveries, like green fluorescent protein (GFP), a finding that could help combat aging.


The problem is that jellyfish are so delicate, it is difficult for remote robotic arms to collect them without causing damage. Now, researchers have found a solution in the form of soft robotics.


The tools aboard remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), used for picking up samples, that are available to marine biologists were largely developed for the marine oil and gas industries.

As such, they are best suited for grasping and manipulating rocks and heavy equipment. Unfortunately, these types of tools often shred jellyfish to pieces in an attempt to capture them.


This technology could also help researchers collect and study other marine life, and it could advance other soft robots. 

"Soft robotics is an ideal solution to long-standing problems like this one across a wide variety of fields.

Because it combines the programmability and robustness of traditional robots with unprecedented gentleness thanks to the flexible materials used," said Rob Wood, Ph.D., co-lead of the Wyss Institute's Bioinspired Soft Robotics Platform.