The networked mobile robot systems increasingly deployed in manufacturing and distribution facilities is being The multifunctional ferrobotic system performs diverse operations, including droplet package transportation, merging, generation, filtration, dispensing and sensing. Source: Wenzhuo Yu et al.scaled down to service microfluidics applications in bioengineering. Ferrobots about 2 mm in diameter were developed at the University of California Los Angeles to coordinate and expedite the manipulation of fluid droplets as required in medical diagnostic assays, drug development and other uses.

The miniature warehouse robots described in Science Robotics are controlled by electromagnetic tiles integrated into the index card-sized work platform that directs them along pre-determined paths at speeds of around 10 cm/second. A millimeter-scale permanent magnet controlled by the activated electromagnetic field serves as a motor. The sample of interest is housed in a ferrofluid droplet carrier that is propelled by forces generated by interaction with the motor’s magnetic actuation field.

Three robots effectively collaborated to move and manipulate human plasma samples as part of a test for cancer biomarkers. While performing more than 10,000 cyclic motions in a 24-hour period, the devices were also demonstrated to dispense fluids and combine different fluids into a single sample.