Wireless resonant magnetic microactuator for untethered mobile microrobots

Power and propulsion are primary challenges in building untethered submillimeter robots. We present a class of actuators utilizing wireless resonant magnetic actuation which accomplishes both tasks with a high degree of control. The actuator harvests magnetic energy from the environment and transfor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2008-04, Vol.92 (14), p.144103-144103-3
Main Authors: Vollmers, Karl, Frutiger, Dominic R., Kratochvil, Bradley E., Nelson, Bradley J.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Power and propulsion are primary challenges in building untethered submillimeter robots. We present a class of actuators utilizing wireless resonant magnetic actuation which accomplishes both tasks with a high degree of control. The actuator harvests magnetic energy from the environment and transforms it to impact-driven mechanical force. It can be powered and controlled with oscillating fields in the kilohertz range and strengths as low as 2 mT . The wireless resonant magnetic microactuator was incorporated in microrobots, which measure 300 × 300 × 70 μ m 3 , that are capable of moving forward, backward, and turning in place while reaching speeds in excess of 12.5 mm ∕ s .
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.2907697