MiniMag: A Hemispherical Electromagnetic System for 5-DOF Wireless Micromanipulation

The MiniMag is a magnetic manipulation system capable of 5 degree-of-freedom (5-DOF) wireless magnetic control of an untethered microrobot (3-DOF position, 2-DOF pointing orientation). The system has a spherical workspace with an intended diameter of approximately 10 mm, and is completely unrestrained in the rotational degrees-of-freedom. This is accomplished through the superposition of multiple magnetic fields, and capitalizes on a linear representation of the coupled field contributions of multiple softmagnetic- core electromagnets acting in concert. The prototype system consists of 8 stationary electromagnets with ferromagnetic cores, and is capable of producing magnetic fields in excess of 20 mT and field gradients in excess of 2 T/m at frequencies up 2 kHz.

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