Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42653568›Full record

ArticleMicromachines2026

Programmable Magnetic Soft Robots via Assembled Magnetization and Joint-Mediated Symmetry Breaking.

Rufei Cui, Boqi Ding, Xiaoyu Zhao, Jiangxing Chen, Yongjun Zhang, Xinyu Wang, Yaxin Wang, Renxian Gao, Kun Zhang, Fengyi Zhang and 1 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Micromachines, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Rufei CuiCollege of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
Boqi DingCollege of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
Xiaoyu ZhaoCollege of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
Jiangxing ChenDepartment of Physics, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China.
Yongjun ZhangCollege of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
Xinyu WangCollege of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
Yaxin WangCollege of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
Renxian GaoCollege of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
Kun ZhangCollege of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
Fengyi ZhangCollege of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
Zhe KongDivision of Microelectronic Materials and Devices, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.ORCID 0000-0001-8622-0175

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China 12304260National Natural Science Foundation of China 12327806Science and Technology Department of Zhejiang Province 2025C01162
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Magnetically actuated soft robots enable untethered operation in confined and complex environments; however, achieving controllable directional locomotion in structurally symmetric systems remains a fundamental challenge due to intrinsic force cancellation under uniform fields. Here, we present a modular strategy that integrates assembled programmable magnetization with energy-biased symmetry-breaking joints to overcome this limitation. By embedding hard-magnetic NdFeB microparticles into an Ecoflex matrix, discrete magnetic units with programmable magnetization are fabricated and assembled into higher-order architectures. We show that asymmetric film constraints prescribe joint polarity and bias strain-energy distribution during actuation, producing distinct deformation modes (folding versus bending) under identical magnetic inputs. This energy asymmetry breaks the balanced response of symmetric structures, enabling net directional motion under spatially uniform magnetic fields. Based on this principle, a segmented crawler achieves a maximum speed of 5.42 mm s

Indexed as

directional locomotionmagnetic actuationmagnetic soft robotsmodular assemblyprogrammable magnetizationsymmetry breaking

Identifiers

PMID42653568
PMCPMC13515808

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.