This project will demonstrate the use of rotating magnetic fields to propel and steer magnetic microswimmers for medical applications such as drug delivery. Unlike previous work in this area, this project considers swarms of microswimmers instead of single vehicles, and allows fluids with non-ideal behavior characteristic of, for example, mucus. The results will be experimentally validated using a controllable synthetic biofluid. The results will guide future development of control systems for microrobotics, and advance towards practically controllable magnetic microswimmers in vivo. A complimentary outreach program will provide and cultivate a unique, interdisciplinary training environment for K-12, undergraduate and graduate students, exploiting eye-catching microswimmer control, drug delivery, and haptic devices.
The PI has recently demonstrated that achiral magnetic rigid geometries are capable of propulsion when rotated by a magnetic field. This project builds upon that demonstration, by formulating the motion control problem in the setting of stochastic differential equations, in order to create a stochastic control system for 3D motion and swarm control of magnetic microswimmers. Motion control of microswimmers is accomplished with magnetic control and computer vision feedback. Notably, variations in the physical parameters of the individual microswimmers will be leveraged to address uncertainty in the fluid environment. The approach will be used to formulate control and coordination schemes for the motion of a large number of microswimmers in heterogeneous 2D and 3D workspaces, using motion planning and control frameworks that address issues such as controllability and optimality. The results will be experimentally validated in a non-Newtonian fluid with controllable parameters that simulates a biological environment.
