Exploring the Deep Sea: Combining a Bistable Mechanism with Origami-Inspired Soft Actuators

Sediment sampling is a prevalent approach for ex-ploring and understanding the ocean and its change over time. Unfortunately, the sampling process can be very costly due to the logistics that involve the transportation and deployment of the Remotely Operative Vehicle (ROV), specifically designed for this task. In a collaboration of marine scientists and engineers, this work focuses on developing a lightweight, modular and cost efficient actuation system for deep-sea suction-sampling. We propose a binary actuation system to manipulate the sampling tube directly instead of the tube being guided by a traditional manipulator. The core of the actuation system are bistable actuators that combine origami-inspired soft actuators with a bistable mechanism to form a lightweight but still robust system. This concept aims to lower the cost of deep-sea sediment sampling by offering the option to replace the currently used hydraulic titanium manipulator, that is traditionally used for deep-sea research. We present the design, manufacturing and proof of concept for the combination of a origami-inspired soft actuator with a bistable mechanism.