A transversely magnetized, rod-shaped microrobot

This video shows a transversely magnetized, rod-shaped microrobot, named the RodBot, manipulating a polystyrene sphere of diameter 130 µm in a liquid. The RodBot rolls around its long axis on a surface and its speed and orientation are controlled by external, rotating magnetic fields. The flows generated by the RodBot are capable of lifting up the polystyrene sphere, trapping it in the vortex above the RodBot and transporting it to any predefined location in the solution.