Continuously distributed magnetization profile for millimeter-scale elastomeric undulatory swimming

We have developed a millimeter-scale magnetically driven swimming robot for untethered motion at mid to low Reynolds numbers. The robot is propelled by continuous undulatory deformation, which is enabled by the distributed magnetization profile of a flexible sheet. We demonstrate control of a protot...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Diller, Eric, Zhuang, Jiang, Zhan Lum, Guo, Edwards, Matthew R., Sitti, Metin
Other Authors: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/98381
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/19599
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
Description
Summary:We have developed a millimeter-scale magnetically driven swimming robot for untethered motion at mid to low Reynolds numbers. The robot is propelled by continuous undulatory deformation, which is enabled by the distributed magnetization profile of a flexible sheet. We demonstrate control of a prototype device and measure deformation and speed as a function of magnetic field strength and frequency. Experimental results are compared with simple magnetoelastic and fluid propulsion models. The presented mechanism provides an efficient remote actuation method at the millimeter scale that may be suitable for further scaling down in size for micro-robotics applications in biotechnology and healthcare.