This repository documents the development of a modular magnetic microrobotic system capable of multimodal structural transformation using magnetic field-based actuation. The system is designed for high adaptability, aiming to outperform rigid robotic structures in flexibility, reconfiguration, and task-specific performance.
The work is being conducted as part of a Master’s project at Imperial College London (Department of Bioengineering), supervised by Dr. Dandan Zhang.
- Design modular microrobots that can reconfigure into different shapes (e.g. chain, lattice).
- Develop an electromagnetic control system using Helmholtz coils to generate global uniform magnetic fields.
- Demonstrate multimodal actuation, enabling the robot to switch between locomotion and manipulation modes.
- Implement open-loop control to perform and evaluate transformations.
- Validate system performance using metrics such as transformation time, energy efficiency, and task adaptability.
- Magnetic Actuation: Combines magnetic torque and force to achieve both rotation and translation of modules.
- Shape Transformation: Enables the microrobot to dynamically switch between multiple configurations under external field control.
- Swarm Coordination: Explores basic coordination of multiple microrobot units using shared fields and physical design cues.
- Simulation + Prototyping: CAD modeling and magnetic field simulation precede physical testing with 3D-printed prototypes.
🟡 In Progress
- Literature review, CAD design, and early simulations completed
- Hardware prototyping and control testing planned
- Experimental evaluation and thesis submission scheduled for Summer 2025
- Fabricate coil-based actuation platform
- Assemble and test modular microrobot prototypes
- Perform transformation and locomotion experiments
- Analyse performance with statistical methods
- Publish final thesis and results on this repository
- MATLAB, SolidWorks, COMSOL – for simulation and design
- Helmholtz Coil Setup – for uniform magnetic field generation
- 3D Printing – for modular robot fabrication
- Image Processing + Sensors – for experimental validation