Reconfigurable Cilia-Based Magnetic Millirobots for Cooperative Particle Manipulation Through Programmable Assembly
Dineshkumar Loganathan1, Chia-Yuan Chen1,2
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan.
Micromachines
|July 28, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed reconfigurable cilia-based magnetic millirobots (CMMRs) for programmable particle manipulation. These millirobots assemble into cooperative structures, enabling precise microparticle transport in microfluidic environments.
Area of Science:
- Robotics and Microfluidics
- Biomedical Engineering
- Materials Science
Background:
- Reconfigurable robotic systems offer adaptability for particle manipulation.
- Programmable cooperative manipulation of untethered robots in microfluidics is challenging.
- Need for precise control over particle capture, transport, and release.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop reconfigurable cilia-based magnetic millirobots (CMMRs) for cooperative particle manipulation.
- To achieve programmable assembly and disassembly of CMMRs for microhandling tasks.
- To demonstrate precise particle transportation within microfluidic environments.
Main Methods:
- Development of CMMRs actuated by an electromagnetic coil array.
- Utilizing sequential coil activation and pulse-width modulation for control.
- Employing self-organization analysis for cooperative structure formation and micro-particle image velocimetry (μPIV) for flow characterization.
Main Results:
- Programmable assembly, transportation, and disassembly of CMMRs were successfully achieved.
- CMMRs formed a cooperative structure with a central cavity for particle confinement.
- Particles were transported along predefined trajectories with <5% deviation; assembled structures created a directional transport corridor with 4.5 mm/s flow velocity.
Conclusions:
- CMMRs enable programmable cooperative particle manipulation in microfluidic systems.
- The developed platform provides a foundation for reconfigurable untethered robotic systems.
- Demonstrated capabilities are suitable for microhandling operations in lab-on-a-chip devices.
