Small‐Scale Magnetic Peristaltic Soft Robot With Mobility and Transport Capabilities

Peristaltic locomotion and transport are fundamental biological mechanisms used in soft‐bodied organisms (e.g., earthworms) and anatomical structures (e.g., the gastrointestinal tract) to generate axial movement through coordinated muscle contractions. However, bioinspired multipurpose peristaltic systems for both locomotion and transport remain underexplored. This work presents a small‐scale, lightweight, untethered, fully soft magnetic robot that locomotes in different environments and transports cargo within its hollow body. It is composed of eight 1‐mm‐thick and 30 mm long elastomeric strips featuring helical magnetization profiles, generating peristaltic waves under uniform rotating magnetic fields (10–80 mT, 1–5 Hz). A coupled magneto‐mechanical finite‐element model numerically predicts the robot's deformation and is experimentally validated (RMSE ≈ 1 mm). Robot capabilities are demonstrated through locomotion over solid cylindrical rods, reaching peak speeds of 33.45 mm min ⁻¹ (≈1.1 body lengths min ⁻¹ ), and inside narrow lumina, yielding speeds up to 124.17 mm min ⁻¹ (≈4.1 body lengths min ⁻¹ ). Peristaltic cargo transport of solid spheres and cylindrical rods within its lumen is also demonstrated. Multifunctional demonstrations combining cargo transport and locomotion, including bridging lumina gaps, are also reported. The robot's soft, lightweight, and untethered design allows operation in complex environments without embedded power sources, enabling several potential biomedical and industrial applications.