2 research outputs found
Towards Dynamic Simulation Guided Optimal Design of Tumbling Microrobots
Design of robots at the small scale is a trial-and-error based process, which
is costly and time-consuming. There are no good dynamic simulation tools to
predict the motion or performance of a microrobot as it moves against a
substrate. At smaller length scales, the influence of adhesion and friction,
which scales with surface area, becomes more pronounced. Thus, rigid body
dynamic simulators, which implicitly assume that contact between two bodies can
be modeled as point contact are not suitable. In this paper, we present
techniques for simulating the motion of microrobots where there can be
intermittent and non-point contact between the robot and the substrate. We use
this simulator to study the motion of microrobots of different shapes and
select shapes that are most promising for performing a given task
Dynamic Simulation-Guided Design of Tumbling Magnetic Microrobots
Design of robots at the small scale is a trial-and-error based process, which
is costly and time-consuming. There are few dynamic simulation tools available
to accurately predict the motion or performance of untethered microrobots as
they move over a substrate. At smaller length scales, the influence of adhesion
and friction, which scales with surface area, becomes more pronounced. Thus,
rigid body dynamic simulators, which implicitly assume that contact between two
bodies can be modeled as point contact are not suitable. In this paper, we
present techniques for simulating the motion of microrobots where there can be
intermittent and non-point contact between the robot and the substrate. We use
these techniques to study the motion of tumbling microrobots of different
shapes and select shapes that are optimal for improving locomotion performance.
Simulation results are verified using experimental data on linear velocity,
maximum climbable incline angle, and microrobot trajectory. Microrobots with
improved geometry were fabricated, but limitations in the fabrication process
resulted in unexpected manufacturing errors and material/size scale
adjustments. The developed simulation model is able to incorporate these
limitations and emulate their effect on the microrobot's motion, reproducing
the experimental behavior of the tumbling microrobots, further showcasing the
effectiveness of having such a dynamic model.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1907.1269