A new approach to build mesoscopic-size engines that move translationally or rotationally and can perform useful functions such as the pulling of a cargo is presented. The approach is based on the transformation of internal vibrations of the moving object into directed motion, making use of the nonlinear properties of friction. This can be achieved by superimposing time-dependent external fields that break the spatial symmetry. The motion can be controlled and optimized by adjusting the system parameters.

It is shown that making use of frictional interactions allows for an effective directed motion of a block produced by asymmetrical vibrations of the underlying plate. We found that the block dynamics exhibits four different regimes of motion depending on the relationships between the values of the frictional forces and the characteristics of the plate vibrations. The optimal motion of the block can be achieved by tuning the amplitudes and frequencies of the vibrations in a controllable way.

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