Cooperative behavior of miniature magnetic swimmers in uniform magnetic fields

Abstract

Abstract Magnetically powered miniature robots have received increasing attention for decades owing to their convenient navigation ability, noninvasive remote actuation, and diverse potential applications. Although various individual motions of magnetic miniature robots have been explored, mimicking group cooperation and synchronized coordination of natural intelligence remain challenging. Here, we introduce diverse cooperative behaviors between two magnetic miniature swimmers in uniform magnetic fields by tuning and composing their magnetic moments. The ability of these magnetic miniature swimmers to form dynamic steady states offers considerable promise for creating groups of machines that can perform cooperative tasks.