Heterogeneous multiple soft millirobots in three-dimensional lumens | Science Advances

Miniature soft robots offer opportunities for safe and physically adaptive medical interventions in hard-to-reach regions. Deploying multiple robots could further enhance the efficacy and multifunctionality of these operations. However, multirobot deployment in physiologically relevant three-dimensional (3D) tubular structures is limited by the lack of effective mechanisms for independent control of miniature magnetic soft robots. This work presents a framework leveraging the shape-adaptive robotic design and heterogeneous resistance from robot-lumen interactions to enable magnetic multirobot control. We first compute influence and actuation regions to quantify robot movement. Subsequently, a path planning algorithm generates the trajectory of a permanent magnet for multirobot navigation in 3D lumens. Last, robots are controlled individually in multilayer lumen networks under medical imaging. Demonstrations of multilocation cargo delivery and flow diversion manifest their potential to enhance biomedical functions. This framework offers a solution to multirobot actuation benefiting applications across different miniature robotic devices in complex environments.