Adaptive Motion Control of Modified E. Coli

Abstract

Micro robotic systems are of growing interest for biomedical applications. The widely preferred means of locomotion for untethered microrobots is swimming via mimicry of single-celled organisms. Furthermore, such organisms are recently considered to be integrated into a micro-robotic system to achieve biocompatibility. The motion control of such bio-hybrid systems poses a considerable challenge due to their size and taxis-behavior. Here, an adaptive motion control scheme is investigated with a simulated coupled system of open kinematic chain and bacterium under in vitro conditions. The said control is achieved through magnetic coupling between the two via a single permanent magnet. The main focus of the study is the effect of the adaptive component and its ability to change the swimming direction of a single E. Coli minicell. Simulation results show that it is theoretically possible to achieve motion control via such an approach.