DEVELOPING A MOTION MECHANISM FOR A SINGLE MODULE IN A SELF-RECONFIGURABLE MODULAR MICROROBOTICS SYSTEM BY USING EXTERNAL MAGNETIC ACTUATORS

Abstract

In microrobotics field, self-reconfigurable modular robots (SRMRs) offer several advantages including adaptation to uneven environments, the capability of handling various sets of tasks, and continuous operation in the case of a malfunction of a single module. The current research direction in self-reconfigurable robotic systems is towards reaching million level number of modules working in coherence by means of locomotion, self-reconfiguration, and information flow. This research direction comes with new challenges such as miniaturizing the modules. One should consider looking for alternative ways of locomotion and self-reconfiguration when dealing with SRMRs having million level number of modules. Externally actuating the modules can be a good alternative to micro SRMRs. In this study, we developed a novel motion mechanism for a single module in a micro SRMR system by using external magnetic actuators. An assembly of elastic microtubes and permanent magnets is attached inside a cube-shaped module and periodic motion of the assembly is applied. The motion of a single microtube with permanent magnets inside is generated by using COMSOL Multiphysics software. The results of the simulations are compared with theoretical values to validate the motion mechanism that is introduced in the study.