Magnets and their properties have long fascinated everyone from children to scientists, but it's unlikely you’ve ever seen them harnessed quite like this.
SRI International, a non-profit research firm serving government and industry, has found a novel way to control tiny, low cost magnets via electromagnetic pulses delivered to them through contact with printed circuit boards.
The patented process, known as Diamagnetic Micro Manipulation (DM3), can move magnetically actuated micro-robots at speeds of up to 3 CM per second, in any direction and even along curved circuit boards. As long as there’s an electromagnetic current running through the circuitry, the magnets will hold on and do your bidding. The system can host not just one magnet on a board, but dozens, which can work together or perform separate task. All the instruction comes through the electromagnetic pulses in the board.
Making one or even dozens of little magnets move and almost dance in unison is entertaining, but it's when SRI started adding what it calls "effectors" to the magnets that things got really interesting. "Effectors" are basically little pieces of wires or other add-ons that allow the magnets to pick up, hold and manipulate materials.
In the video above, the magnets are programmed to grab, move and glue carbon-fiber sticks. Eventually, they built a 29-centimeter-long truss capable of supporting up to 2 kg.
According to SRI, which is working on the project with DARPA, "Our vision is to enable an assembly head containing thousands of micro-robots to manufacture high-quality macro-scale products while providing millimeter-scale structural control."
The company believes these micro robots could someday power entire micro factories.
The video, by the way, looks pretty mundane until you realize it’s garden variety magnets acting as if they’re alive and capable of working as hard as you’re everyday construction worker.
IMAGE: SRI INTERNATIONAL / SCREEN GRAB