Dual-Arm Platform for Control of Magnetically Actuated Soft Robots

EasyChair Preprint 8159

Abstract

The rise in popularity of magnetic actuation comes from the fact that it allows for the control of wireless magnetic micro-robots and magnetic Soft Continuum Robots (SCRs), which bring about a reduction in size when compared to their non-magnetic counterparts. SCRs have a theoretical infinite number of Degrees of Freedom (DOFs) and thus, can adapt to various nonlinear environments, minimising contact and pressure on surrounding tissue. While successful multi-DOFs magnetic actuation has been demonstrated at small scale, by using systems of coils, large-scale manipulation is yet to be fully proven. Despite their ability to generate both homogeneous fields and gradients, systems of coils are less scalable, compared to permanent magnet based magnetic field control systems. The present work discusses a novel approach for remote magnetic actuation. In the following, we present a full characterization of the dual External Permanent Magnet (dEPM) actuation system. Herein, we discuss how this system can be applied to fully control the magnetic field in a predefined workspace. We discuss how it can generate a homogeneous magnetic field, in every direction and control every independent gradient in the same workspace. We prove how up to 8 magnetic DOFs, 3 independent field components and 5 gradients directions, can be controlled fully independently.

Keyphrases: Magnetic manipulation, Multi-Degree of Freedom Control, Robotics, Soft Continuum Robots

@booklet{EasyChair:8159,
  author    = {Michael Brockdorff and Giovanni Pittiglio and Tomas da Veiga and James Chandler and Pietro Valdastri},
  title     = {Dual-Arm Platform for Control of Magnetically Actuated Soft Robots},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 8159},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2022}}