PCBot: a Minimalist Robot Designed for Swarm Applications

Abstract: Complexity, cost, and power requirements for the actuation of individual robots can play a large factor in limiting the size of robotic swarms. Here we present PCBot, a minimalist robot that can precisely move on an orbital shake table using a bi-stable solenoid actuator built directly into its PCB. This allows the actuator to be built as part of the automated PCB manufacturing process, greatly reducing the impact it has on manual assembly. Thanks to this novel actuator design, PCBot has merely five major components and can be assembled in under 20 seconds, potentially enabling them to be easily mass-manufactured. Here we present the electro-magnetic and mechanical design of PCBot. Additionally, a prototype robot is used to demonstrate its ability to move in a straight line as well as follow given paths.