Magnetic equilibrium postures of a multibody magnetic microrobot composed of a spherical magnet chain

Abstract

Multibody magnetic microrobots composed of multiple magnetic bodies have been widely investigated to achieve complex mechanical motions in various biomedical applications. This research proposes a methodology to simulate the magnetic equilibrium postures of a microrobot composed of a spherical magnet chain (MSMC) under various external magnetic fields, non-magnetic torques and forces. An equivalent point-dipole model is used to precisely and effectively calculate the magnetic interactions within the MSMC, and geometric and mechanical characteristics of the MSMC are investigated to describe and calculate the geometric deformations of the MSMC with minimum variables. We also formulate nonlinear constraint equations for the equilibrium posture of the MSMC, and then develop an optimized solution procedure for those equations. We finally examine the simulated and experimental results of the magnetic equilibrium postures of MSMCs under different conditions to verify the proposed method.