Awesome magnetic robots - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2014, 10:06:29 am
content: This is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time...http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-04/16/magnetic-microrobot-swarmsWould be fun to figure out how this works - couldn't immediately find the patent mentioned on the SRI siteObservations :Robots look like they may be clusters of small, presumably neodymium magnets - especially in the first pick/place demoThe flex demo only moves in one axis, and has few connectionsThere is what looks like metal foil over the PCBs - is this for magnetic reasons, friction reduction or both?The rigid PCB is sitting on a thick metal plate - magnetic, heatsinking or both?The PCN top layer appears to have fairly long tracks - far too long for localised control, presumably acting in conjunction with a finer-grained structure on the underside.I don't know enough about magnetism to know the significance of the "diamagnetic" stuff - I've seen diamagnetic levitation so maybe helps to reduce friction?I wonder if maybe a lot of the movement actually is along predefined routes in the PCB, as opposed to being fully x/y capable - some of the demos seem to involve unnecessary movements, ane the very first demo seems to have a fairly uninteresting motion routeWhat really puzzles me is how they get the rotation

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2014, 11:24:22 am
content: One of the ways you could do this is by having the robot in a continuously unfavourable position (i.e. when rotated it wants to snap back.) This would be generated by an opposing magnetic field holding each robot in the unfavourable position. Rotation is then slowly allowing the robot to go back to the position it wants to (under no power.)

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2014, 11:54:49 am
content: How hard can it be...?

author: dr.diesel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2014, 12:02:53 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on April 17, 2014, 10:06:29 amAgreed, that is awesome,How long till there are bought by Googlenet?

author: Dave Turner
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 17, 2014, 04:22:57 pm
content: Wow!I wonder how small they could go.

author: Christe4nM
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 17, 2014, 05:03:02 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on April 17, 2014, 10:06:29 amDefinitely! Absolutely cool!

author: Kevin.D
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 07, 2014, 03:08:19 pm
content: Someones done a 2 D automated movement version using the same idea that Mike used .

author: Rory
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 07, 2014, 03:22:57 pm
content: Looks to me like someone has a magnet under the table.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 07, 2014, 09:14:16 pm
content: Quote from: Rory on June 07, 2014, 03:22:57 pmIf you look at his project link, it looks legit:http://spritesmods.com/?art=magnmicrobots

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 07, 2014, 10:28:36 pm
content: Lots of info in the patent :https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US8593016.pdfCouple of interesting things on a quick skim - use of a diamagnetic layer to reduce friction, and conductive (presumably copper) for damping via eddy-currents.I wonder if bismuth foil would be diamagnetic enough - probably easier then getting a big sheet of pyrolytic graphite.