Parallel Pick and Place Using Two Independent Untethered Mobile Magnetic Microgrippers

Untethered mobile microgrippers exhibit flexibility and agility in small and constrained environments as precise and accurate robotic end-effectors, with promising potential applications in cell manipulation and microassembly. Here, we propose the first scheme to independently and simultaneously position two microgrippers on a horizontal plane for parallel targeted cargo delivery using a single global input. The separation and orientation of the two-microgripper pair are modulated by the local magnetic interactions between the two microgrippers, which are governed by a global magnetic field. The microgripper action of grasping or releasing cargoes is fully controlled by the global magnetic field without requiring additional thermal, chemical, or other stimuli. Thus, the proposed strategy only requires a single input, i.e., a global magnetic field, to control two microgrippers and therefore is simple to implement and fast-acting. As a demonstration, two microgrippers are maneuvered by a global magnetic field to pick up two cargoes and deliver them to their respective destinations. The parallel operation of two microgrippers can potentially double the overall throughput and enable the tasks that require team cooperations. The two 3D microgrippers configuration is intuitive in teleoperations, since it imitates the two-hand case of human beings.