Design and Fabrication of a Softrobotic Gripper for Involving Underwater Vehicles in Seaweed Farming

Problem Statement

Red seaweed called Kappaphycus alvarezii is also referred to as “cottonii” or “cottonii seaweed as shown in figure 1(c). ” It is widely grown for commercial purposes and is a member of the Solieriaceae family. Carrageenan is a type of hydrocolloid that is used in many different industries. Seaweeds are macroscopic algae growing in the marine and shallow coastal waters and on rocky shores. It plays a major role in marine ecosystems and abundantly available in the region of Gulf of Mannar Biosphere. However, some species of seaweed clash coral reefs and damage them severely due to the release of hydrophobic allelochemicals. Therefore, the ecological balance is required in seaweed growth, otherwise it results in algal bloom, which is shown in figure 1(e). This factor induces the Indian government to promote the seaweed cultivation to a greater extent. Over the years, fisherwomen in Ramanathapuram district of Tamilnadu are engaged in collecting the Seed stock of seaweeds from littoral zones, rocky shores and deep-sea waters for economic gain. It endangers their lives due to presence of sharp rocks, poisonous algae’s, cyanobacteria, coral reefs which is shown in figure 1(f) and other species in the ocean. They are staying in the seabed lined with slippery coral for more than 7 hours to search and collect the considerable number of seaweeds without any proper safety materials.