(63a) Controlled Motion, Cargo Capture, and Navigation of Microellipsoids in Time-Varying Magnetic Fields

Microrobots have the potential for diverse applications, including targeted drug delivery and minimally invasive surgery. Despite advancements in microrobot design and actuation strategies, achieving precise control over their motion remains challenging due to the dominance of viscous drag, system disturbances, physicochemical heterogeneities, and stochastic Brownian forces. This talk will demonstrate a precise control over the interfacial motion of model microellipsoids using time-varying rotating magnetic fields. The impacts of microellipsoid aspect ratio, field characteristics, and magnetic properties of the medium and the particle on the motion will be shown. The role of mobile micro-vortices generated will be highlighted by rotating microellipsoids in capturing, transporting, and releasing cargo objects. Furthermore, an approach will be presented for controlled navigation through mazes based on real-time particle and obstacle sensing, path planning, and magnetic field actuation without human intervention. The study talk will introduce a mechanism of directing motion of microparticles using rotating magnetic fields, and a control scheme for precise navigation and delivery of micron-sized cargo using simple microellipsoids as microbots.