RAD Sampler: Robotic Underwater Pokeball That Gently Handles Sea Creatures

Here is a robot designed to capture underwater creatures like a pokeball. The rotary actuated dodecahedron sampler (RAD) has five petals that fold up to safely capture marine organisms like jellyfish without harming them. It has simple controls, making it easy to operate in deep ocean environments.

As the above video explains, this robotic pokeball was tested to a depth of 700m but can withstand the pressures at full ocean depth of 11km. It uses a single motor to drive the folding mechanism.

[HT]