Magnetic soft matter for robotics

Project Information

MAESTRI

Grant agreement ID: 101119614

DOI

10.3030/101119614

EC signature date 23 May 2023

Start date 1 March 2024

End date 29 February 2028

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 2 356 970,40

Coordinated by

OSTBAYERISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE REGENSBURG
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MAESTRI (Magnetic soft matter for robotics)

Reporting period: 2024-03-01 to 2026-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

This doctoral network (DN) responds to the growing need for a new generation of researchers and engineers capable of advancing the emerging field of magnetic soft robotics, which combines soft functional materials, magnetism and robotic systems. Soft robots can adapt their shape and mechanical properties more easily than conventional rigid robots and may offer new possibilities for manipulation, locomotion and interaction with complex environments. Materials involved are elastomers and complementary liquids filled with micro- and nanometer-sized magnetic particles. By applying magnetic fields, selected material properties such as stiffness, surface structure or friction can be modified during operation. This creates opportunities for robotic systems with adaptable functionality, but also raises fundamental scientific questions regarding the relationships between material composition, structure, magnetic response and resulting robotic performance.
Because the technical challenges involved are complex and require expertise from different disciplines, the consortium brings together seven academic and two industrial beneficiaries with complementary backgrounds in biology, materials science, physics and robotic engineering. The project investigates magnetic soft matter experimentally and theoretically, develops modelling and simulation tools, and translates the resulting knowledge into robotic components and demonstrators.
The research programme is directed towards the development and demonstration of mobile robots and robotic gripping devices in which key functional parameters, such as the friction of a robot's contact surfaces or the stiffness of robotic joints, can be adjusted using permanent magnets or electromagnets. To achieve this, the project studies the synthesis, structure-property relationships and physical mechanisms underlying magnetic soft materials, develops the required electronic and magnetic control systems, and explores adaptive control strategies for real-time adjustment of robot behaviour.
While MAESTRI is primarily a research and training project, it is expected to strengthen the scientific foundations of magnetic soft robotics, provide new experimental and computational tools for researchers in the field, and stimulate future application concepts in areas such as soft manipulation and adaptive robotic systems. The project also contributes to maintaining European expertise in advanced materials and robotics through interdisciplinary collaboration between academic and industrial partners.
A central objective of MAESTRI is the training of nine doctoral candidates. Through a structured programme combining research, international mobility, interdisciplinary education and exposure to industrial environments, the network prepares a new generation of specialists capable of working across the boundaries of materials science, physics and robotics in both academia and industry.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

MAESTRI advanced the scientific foundations of magnetic soft robotics by combining materials development, characterization, modelling, control engineering and robotic implementation. The project established a common research framework linking the design of magnetic soft materials to their functional use in robotic systems. New material formulations, particle surface-functionalization approaches and optimized processing methods improved particle dispersion, reproducibility and magnetic responsiveness of the magnetoactive elastomeric compound materials. A comprehensive experimental characterization programme established how material composition and magnetic fields influence stiffness, adhesion, surface structure and dynamic behaviour. The project generated new knowledge about the relationships between material structure and functional performance. These results provide a validated basis for the design and optimization of future magnetic soft robotic systems.
In parallel, novel concepts for magnetic actuation and adaptive control were designed and experimentally validated. These included magnetically driven actuator concepts, data-driven modelling approaches and learning-based control methods capable of handling the non-linear behaviour of soft robotic systems. The resulting approaches support the development of robots whose properties and behaviour can be adjusted through magnetic-field control.
First steps were taken to integrate the developed materials, models and control approaches into robotic demonstrators. These include soft robotic systems for locomotion and object manipulation, switchable-stiffness mechanisms for robotic fingers, and magnetically enhanced gripping technologies.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

During the first period, MAESTRI primarily focused on establishing the scientific, methodological and technological foundations required to achieve the project's long-term objectives. Significant progress was made in the development of magnetoactive materials, their experimental characterization, predictive simulation tools, and magnetic actuation concepts. These activities have generated important knowledge, methodologies and enabling technologies that support the further development of magnetic soft robotics.
At the current stage of the project, many of these developments remain under active investigation and validation. Although the results obtained so far indicate promising directions for advancing the design, control and application of magnetic soft robotic systems, further integration of materials, modelling approaches and robotic demonstrators is required before their full scientific significance and potential impact beyond the current state of the art can be conclusively assessed.