Development of a micro‐robot for endoscopes based on wireless power transfer

Abstract

This paper develops a new prototype of a wireless micro‐robot system for endoscopes. The micro‐robot we have fabricated and tested is able to propel itself in the intestine of pig. Its autonomous manner is earthworm‐like and driven by linear actuators based on a DC motor. Unlike with conventional micro‐robot endoscopes, that wireless module is used for communicating and power transfer. The experimental results show that the driving force of the linear actuator can reach up to 2.55N and the stable supplying power is up to 480mW DC power for the receiving coil in the proposed system, which all fulfill the need of the micro‐robot system. The micro‐robot can creep reliably in the small and large intestine of a pig. The video communication module embedded in the head of the micro‐robot can capture the inner picture of the intestine and broadcast it to PC in real‐time.

• Micro‐robot
• endoscope, intestine
• linear actuator
• wireless power transfer