Contactless manipulation of multiple objects in a plane using multiple air jets

We present a method for contactless manipulation of the position of multiple small objects in a plane using multiple air jets. When the objects are initially positioned near each other, the group´s center of gravity is used as a representative point and the entire group is manipulated. When the objects are initially scattered, the object farthest from the desired value is determined and individually controlled. Four jets allowing control of airflow rate and angle are used in a position manipulation experiment using five objects, and the efficacy of the proposed method is compared and discussed.