Shape programmable magnetic pixel soft robot

Magnetic soft robots (MSRs) can achieve controllable shape-morphing by magnetic programming to the magnetic elastomer. However, the magnetization profile is usually implemented on a continuous region and is unchangeable. The deformation and function design of MSR hence is limited. This study presents a programmable magnetic pixel soft robot (MPSR). By encapsulating liquid-metal/NdFeB composites into a Silicone shell, the thermal-magnetic response functional film with lattice-structure is fabricated, with the highest pixel resolution of 1 × 1 mm². A piece of laser-assisted magnetic programming equipment is developed to implement magnetic encoding on discrete regions of the film. Therefore, a mathematical model is proposed to help calculate the magnetic codes according to the preset end shape. At last, several pixel-structure MPSRs are prepared and tested. Experimental results show that using the magnetic encoding technique, we can reconfigure the deformations and functions of the robot. This study provides a basis for the programmed shape regulation and motion design of the soft robot.