Mechanics of Magnetic Robots Akin to Soft Beams Supported at Unanchored Contacts

This article presents a novel algorithm to predict the shape and the support configurations of a magnetic robot acting like a supple beam, which deforms due to an imposed magnetic field. The soft magnet loosely rests on a flat horizontal surface, which provides the pivoting supports to the robot to attain its deformed shape. The key difficulty in analysis of the mechanics is the lack of any prior knowledge about the location of the contacts...