CANBERRA, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- A team from Australia's national science agency has developed a soft robotic hand that they say could offer a groundbreaking approach to coral reef restoration.

The hand, or gripper, was developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organisation (CSIRO) to be attached to a coral farming robot, the Coral Husbandry Automated Raceway Machine (CHARM).

The robot was developed by NGO the Beyond Coral Foundation to automate the delicate, labor-intensive and time-consuming process of cultivating baby corals in laboratory settings.

Josh Pinskier, a CSIRO soft robotics scientist, said that the gripper replicates the dexterity of a human hand, allowing it to handle delicate coral tissue, and is strong enough to lift various sizes.

"Cultivating hundreds or thousands of baby coral colonies in the lab demands significant effort and precise handling," he said in a media release on Thursday.

"By automating this process, we can contribute to broader global efforts to scale coral farming and help restore the world's reefs."

The CSIRO team used AI-powered generative design algorithms to identify the optimal structures for the grippers to safely and effectively handle coral.

They were 3D printed from a hard polymer and soft rubber to avoid the corrosion in saltwater suffered by traditional robotics.

Stephen Rodan, inventor of CHARM from the Beyond Coral Foundation, said the project marks the first time in history that a robot apparatus has picked up coral and safely transferred it between tanks.

According to the CSIRO, the mass production of healthy baby corals in laboratories is critical for restoring reefs damaged by the impacts of climate change. Enditem

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