Three-degrees-of-freedom orientation manipulation of small untethered robots with a single anisotropic soft magnet

Heng Wang (), Junhao Cui, Kuan Tian and Yuxiang Han
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Heng Wang: South China University of Technology, Guangzhou
Junhao Cui: South China University of Technology, Guangzhou
Kuan Tian: South China University of Technology, Guangzhou
Yuxiang Han: South China University of Technology, Guangzhou

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract Magnetic actuation has been well exploited for untethered manipulation and locomotion of small-scale robots in complex environments such as intracorporeal lumens. Most existing magnetic actuation systems employ a permanent magnet onboard the robot. However, only 2-DoF orientation of the permanent-magnet robot can be controlled since no torque can be generated about its axis of magnetic moment, which limits the dexterity of manipulation. Here, we propose a new magnetic actuation method using a single soft magnet with an anisotropic geometry (e.g., triaxial ellipsoids) for full 3-DoF orientation manipulation. The fundamental actuation principle of anisotropic magnetization and 3-DoF torque generation are analytically modeled and experimentally validated. The hierarchical orientation stability about three principal axes is investigated, based on which we propose and validate a multi-step open-loop control strategy to alternatingly manipulate the direction of the longest axis of the soft magnet and the rotation about it for dexterous 3-DoF orientation manipulation.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42783-5

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