Giant magnetostrictive alloy (GMA) applications to micro mobile robot as a micro actuator without power supply cables

The authors describe an in-pipe micro mobile robot with a new actuator called the giant magnetostrictive alloy (GMA), which requires no power supply cables. The cableless micro mobile robots can be controlled by the magnetic fields supplied by the outer side. The mechanism of the motions is based on an inch-worm-type mobile mechanism. Two mechanisms are discussed here: (1) the reversible motion and (2) the one-way motion mechanisms. The sizes of the robots are 21 mm in diameter for the reversible motion of the macro model and 6 mm in diameter for the one-way motion of the micro model. The motion is controlled by the regulated motion of the outer electromagnetic coil, so that the in-pipe micro mobile can follow the outer coil. These micro cableless mobile robots may be suitable for small pipe inspections and for application in the biomedical field.<>