Deformation and motion of the mesh shaped robot driven by the magnet

Abstract

Magnetic field driven robots have a wide spectrum of applications in many areas, such as in biomedical experiment, surgical tools, aerospace and mechanical engineering. In the present study, we make a comprehensive investigation on the deformation and motion of a mesh shaped robot controlled by the magnet. First we have prepared the matrix material of the robot, which is a mixture of silica gel and NdFeB powders. Then the deformation and motion of the robot driven by the magnet are recorded, and the warping and arching configurations are analyzed. The experimental phenomena have been compared with the numerical simulation and theoretical analysis, and the results are in excellent agreement. These findings are beneficial to engineer new types of intelligent robots, as well as to put them in various industrial settings.