A research team at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has found a way to manipulate objects using ultrasonic waves, paving the way for non-contact motion in industries like manufacturing and robotics without the need for an internal power source. The findings were published in a peer-reviewed journal. Nature Communication.

Although it has been shown before that light and sound waves can manipulate objects, objects have always been smaller than the wavelength of sound or light, or on the order of millimeters to nanometers, respectively. A team at the University of Minnesota has developed a method that can move larger objects using the principles of metamaterial physics.

Metamaterials are materials artificially designed to interact with waves, such as light or sound. By placing a model of the metamaterial on the surface of the object, the researchers were able to use it to direct sound in a specific direction without physically touching it.

“We’ve known for some time that waves, light, and sound can manipulate objects. What makes our research different is that we can manipulate and capture much larger objects if we turn their surface into a metamaterial, or “meta surface,” said Ognjen Ilić, senior author of the study and Benjamin Mayhew Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota. “When we place these tiny patterns on the surface of objects, we can actually reflect sound in any direction. And by doing this, we can control the acoustic force acting on the object.”

Using this technique, researchers not only push an object forward, but also pull it toward a source; “Star wars”.

Their methods can be useful for moving objects in fields such as manufacturing or robotics.

“Contactless manipulation is a hot research area in optics and electromagnetism, but this work offers another non-contact actuation method that offers advantages that other methods may not have,” said Matthew Stein, lead author of the paper. graduate student at the university. Minnesota Department of Mechanical Engineering. “Also, it’s very exciting to expand our knowledge of physics outside of the applications this research provides!”

While this research is more of a proof-of-concept, the researchers would like to test higher wave frequencies and different materials and object sizes in the future.

“In many areas of science and technology, especially robotics, there is a need to move something, to transmit a signal to some kind of controlled movement,” said Ilich. “Usually this is done with physical bonds or the need to carry some kind of energy source to complete the task. I think we’re taking a new direction here and showing that we can move objects without physical contact and that motion can be controlled by simply programming what’s on the surface of that object. This gives us a new non-contact drive. He gives his mechanism at work.”