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(Ed.)
The modular assembly and actuation of 3D prin-
ted milliscale cuboid robots using a globally applied magnetic
field is presented. Cuboids are composed of a rectangular resin
shell embedded with two spherical permanent magnets that can
independently align with any applied magnetic field. Placing
cuboids within short distances of each other allows for modular
assembly and disassembly by changing magnetic field direction.
Assembled cuboids are demonstrated to stably self-propel under
sequential field inputs allowing for both rolling and pivot
walking motion modes. Swarms of cuboids could be actuated
within the working space and exhibit near identical behavior.
Specialized ‘trap robots’ were developed to capture objects,
transport them within the working space, and subsequently
release the payload in a new location. Cuboids with male and
female connectors were developed to exhibit the selective mating
between cuboids. The results show that cuboids are a diverse
and adaptable platform that has the potential to be scaled down
to the sub-millimeter regime for use in medical or small-scale
assembly applications.
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