The University of Rhode Island

Despite great technological advances in ocean exploration over the last 30 years, the world’s most delicate deep-sea species largely remain a mystery. There has been little development in instruments that can be used to identify and safely collect fragile undersea species. That’s about to change. Brennan Phillips, University of Rhode Island assistant professor of ocean engineering, has made significant advancements in the field of soft robotic grippers that can be used to gently grasp these obscure creatures.