this 3D-printed origami robot captures delicate sea creatures without crushing them

inspired by traditional paper-folding techniques, engineers have designed a 3D-printed, origami robot trap to capture sea creatures without hurting them. the 12-sided contraption known as the rotary actuated dodecahedron (RAD) can be attached to the arm of an underwater rover and triggered by humans above water to capture soft marine life.

video by wyss institute

engineers of the wyss institute for biologically inspired engineering at harvard university built the origami robot to give marine biologists with a non-invasive way of extracting samples for discovery and analysis. originally published in science robotics, details of the process are revealed alongside facts on sea life. it’s estimated that around a million species are still waiting to be discovered in our planet’s oceans.

images courtesy of wyss institute

‘we approach these animals as if they are works of art,’ said study co-author david gruber, a biologist at city university of new york, in a statement. ‘would we cut pieces out of the mona lisa to study it? no—we’d use the most innovative tools available. These deep-sea organisms, some being thousands of years old, deserve to be treated with a similar gentleness when we’re interacting with them.’

RAD comprises five 3D printed polymer ‘petals’ attached to a series of rotating joints which are powered by a single motor. the origami robot structure rotates to fold up into 12-sided cage, or dodecahedron. the robot has already been tested, delving as deep as 2,230 feet (700 meters). so far it has captured and released specimens including squid, octopus, and jellyfish.