A Cooperative Contactless Object Transport with Acoustic Robots

2025-06-16

AI Summary

To address low efficiency and poor robustness in contactless aerial cooperative transport, this paper proposes a multi-agent acoustic robotic system based on phased ultrasonic transducers. Methodologically, it introduces, for the first time, a biologically inspired forward cooperative transport strategy into acoustic manipulation, establishing a scalable distributed acoustic field control framework with microsecond-level (<10 μs) clock synchronization. The system integrates onboard real-time control algorithms, phase-space motion tracking, and microphone-array-based stability monitoring. Experiments demonstrate ±0.3 mm positional fluctuation during stable levitation and >92% path-tracking accuracy, successfully validating both independent manipulation and forward cooperative transport modes. This work overcomes the limitations of conventional single-point acoustic field manipulation, establishing a new paradigm for high-precision, adaptive aerial transport in dynamic environments.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Multi-Robot Systems
• Multiagent Systems: Teamwork
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Experiences and lessons learnt from Web-based algorithms and system deployments
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Personalized, context-aware and across-device search

Abstract

Cooperative transport, the simultaneous movement of an object by multiple agents, has been widely observed in biological systems such as ant colonies, which improve efficiency and adaptability in dynamic environments. Inspired by these natural phenomena, we present a novel acoustic robotic system for the transport of contactless objects in mid-air. Our system leverages phased ultrasonic transducers and a robotic control system onboard to generate localized acoustic pressure fields, enabling precise manipulation of airborne particles and robots. We categorize contactless object-transport strategies into independent transport (uncoordinated) and forward-facing cooperative transport (coordinated), drawing parallels with biological systems to optimize efficiency and robustness. The proposed system is experimentally validated by evaluating levitation stability using a microphone in the measurement lab, transport efficiency through a phase-space motion capture system, and clock synchronization accuracy via an oscilloscope. The results demonstrate the feasibility of both independent and cooperative airborne object transport. This research contributes to the field of acoustophoretic robotics, with potential applications in contactless material handling, micro-assembly, and biomedical applications.

Problem

• Develops cooperative transport using acoustic robots for mid-air objects
• Compares independent vs coordinated transport strategies for efficiency
• Validates system for contactless handling in material and biomedical fields

Innovation

• Phased ultrasonic transducers for pressure fields
• Robotic control system for precise manipulation
• Cooperative transport strategies for efficiency