ViMbot: Design and control of a new magnet robot actuated by an external vibrating magnetic field

This paper presents a design, a control scheme, and experiments for a new vibrating magnet robot (ViMbot). Permanent magnets in the new robot vibrate due to an external vibrating magnetic field. The vibration motion of the robot induces the locomotion of the robot. The vibratory dynamic response of the ViMbot is heavily dependent on the frequency of the vibration. This paper shows that the direction of the robot locomotion can be controlled by the vibration frequency of the external magnetic field. To achieve the distinct dynamic responses depending on the vibration frequency, three acrylic plates with different torsional stiffness are attached at three sides of the triangle-shaped ViMbot and then a magnet is attached to each plate. A strategy to find the special frequencies inducing locomotion and associated experiments with the ViMbot are presented. Control experiments for the ViMbot using the special frequencies are also presented. Because the proposed robot is actuated by an external energy source, the robot can move without traditional actuation components such as motors with batteries. This new design concept allows us to miniaturize the proposed robot.