Magnet-based wireless power transmission at extremely low frequencies for microrobots

Abstract

Power supply is one of the most important and challenging issues in microrobotics. Among other external forms, wireless supplying by means of electromagnetic fields is recognized as a common way of transmitting energy, especially for the case of sine or square voltage signals whose fundamental frequency is in the range of tens of hertz (known as extremely low frequencies). In addition, the space to place the signal receiver is limited. This article describes the design of a system that constitutes an alternative to the systems that are currently being developed the most, which transmit signals in the megahertz range that must be rectified to generate the signals to power a microrobot, increasing the complexity of associate electronics. In particular, this work contributes to the analysis of energy transmission with the use of permanent magnets by carrying out a theoretical development and experimental tests, as well as using simulations based on finite element analysis that allow a better understanding of the effect of the geometry and distribution of the participating elements.