A team of researchers has developed a technology for controlling individual microbots, which currently operate in a group. The new technology is based on ‘mini force fields’ and is designed so that microbots can be used in diverse fields like production and pharmaceuticals. An assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, David Cappelleri, stated that till now, microbots could be controlled only in unity and not individually. He added that the independent control of these tiny machines will allow them to undertake cooperative manipulation tasks, thereby carrying out different operations at the same time.

Individual magnetic field generated from a range of tiny planar coils is being utilized to create a controlling system for the robots. "The robots are too small to put batteries on them, so they can't have onboard power. You need to use an external way to power them. We use magnetic fields to generate forces on the robots,” said Cappelleri. By definition, a microbot is a magnetic disk, which slides across a surface. The microbots that are being studied by the researchers have a diameter of about 2 millimeters.

The earlier control systems created for the microbots involved generation of global field by placing fewer coils on the periphery of the workspace in which the machines are confined to operate. However, this set-up is not capable of providing control over individual microbots. Cappelleri stated that the researchers on the other hand used the microscale phenomenon to generate localized fields and not a global field.

The new technology involves printing planar coils directly onto the substrate and the robots will be independently operated through attractive or repulsive forces, and maintaining the electrical current levels of the coils. Having individual control over the robots can be used for developing microelectromechanical systems that can have several usages. In addition, microbot’s force sensors might be capable of detecting cancer cells.