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Feedback control of an achiral robotic microswimmer

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Abstract

Magnetic microswimmers are useful for navigating and performing tasks at small scales. To demonstrate effective control over such microswimmers, we implemented feedback control of the three-bead achiral microswimmers in both simulation and experiment. The achiral microswimmers with the ability to swim in bulk fluid are controlled wirelessly using magnetic fields generated from electromagnetic coils. The achirality of the microswimmers introduces unknown handedness resulting in un-certainty in swimming direction. We use a combination of rotating and static magnetic fields generated from an approximate Helmholtz coil system to overcome such uncertainty. There are also movement uncertainties due to environmental factors such as unsteady flow conditions. A kinematic model based feedback controller was created based on data fitting of experimental data. However, the controller was unable to yield satisfactory performance due to uncertainties from environmental factors; i.e., the time to reach target pose under adverse flow condition is too long. Following the implementation of an integral controller to control the microswimmers’ swimming velocity, the microswimmers were able to reach the target in roughly half the time. Through simulation and experiments, we show that the feedback control law can move an achiral microswimmer from any initial conditions to a target pose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    U. Kei Cheang

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, 75275, USA

    Hoyeon Kim & Min Jun Kim

  3. Department of Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, 95064, USA

    Dejan Milutinović

  4. School of Mechanical Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea

    Jongeun Choi

Authors
  1. U. Kei Cheang
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  2. Hoyeon Kim
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  3. Dejan Milutinović
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  4. Jongeun Choi
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  5. Min Jun Kim
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Correspondence to Min Jun Kim.

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Cheang, U.K., Kim, H., Milutinović, D. et al. Feedback control of an achiral robotic microswimmer. J Bionic Eng 14, 245–259 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/S1672-6529(16)60395-5

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