Adaptive Manipulation: Bridging Rigid and Soft Robotics in Underwater Environments

Underwater robotics is both a major scientific challenge and a key technology for advancing marine applications such as ecosystem monitoring, offshore energy, aquaculture, and ocean exploration. While significant progress has been made in underwater vehicles and sensing, reliable underwater manipulation, the ability for robots to safely interact with objects and environments, remains a critical bottleneck. Tasks like biological sampling, infrastructure maintenance, and ecological restoration require robots capable of robust, adaptive interaction in dynamic, low-visibility, and highly uncertain conditions.

The AMBRE Workshop (Adaptive Manipulation: Bridging Rigid and Soft Robotics in Underwater Environments) brings together researchers from marine robotics, manipulation, soft robotics, perception, and control to address these challenges. By exploring hybrid approaches that combine rigid and soft robotic technologies, the workshop aims to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and identify new strategies for compliant grasping, force-aware interaction, adaptive control, and autonomous operation in complex underwater environments.