{"id":"https://openalex.org/W3203771368","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1109/tro.2021.3111788","title":"A Survey on Swarm Microrobotics","display_name":"A Survey on Swarm Microrobotics","publication_year":2021,"publication_date":"2021-10-06","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W3203771368","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1109/tro.2021.3111788","mag":"3203771368"},"language":"en","primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.1109/tro.2021.3111788","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1109/tro.2021.3111788","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S144620930","display_name":"IEEE Transactions on Robotics","issn_l":"1552-3098","issn":["1552-3098","1546-1904","1941-0468"],"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":true,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310319808","host_organization_name":"Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310319808"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers"],"type":"journal"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"IEEE Transactions on Robotics","raw_type":"journal-article"},"type":"article","indexed_in":["crossref"],"open_access":{"is_oa":false,"oa_status":"closed","oa_url":null,"any_repository_has_fulltext":false},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5001610911","display_name":"Lidong Yang","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5757-7885"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I177725633","display_name":"Chinese University of Hong Kong","ror":"https://ror.org/00t33hh48","country_code":"HK","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I177725633"]}],"countries":["HK"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Lidong Yang","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Mechanical, and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5757-7885","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Mechanical, and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I177725633"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5070983260","display_name":"Jiangfan Yu","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7981-6744"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4210104064","display_name":"Shenzhen Academy of Robotics","ror":"https://ror.org/01h027j09","country_code":"CN","type":"facility","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I4210104064"]},{"id":"https://openalex.org/I4210116924","display_name":"Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen","ror":"https://ror.org/02d5ks197","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I177725633","https://openalex.org/I180726961","https://openalex.org/I4210116924"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Jiangfan Yu","raw_affiliation_strings":["School of Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China","Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, Shenzhen, China"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7981-6744","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"School of Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4210116924"]},{"raw_affiliation_string":"Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society, Shenzhen, China","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I4210104064"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5019900625","display_name":"Shihao Yang","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6343-0169"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I177725633","display_name":"Chinese University of Hong Kong","ror":"https://ror.org/00t33hh48","country_code":"HK","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I177725633"]}],"countries":["HK"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Shihao Yang","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Mechanical, and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong"],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Mechanical, and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I177725633"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5100341629","display_name":"Ben Wang","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7037-3660"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I180726961","display_name":"Shenzhen University","ror":"https://ror.org/01vy4gh70","country_code":"CN","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I180726961"]}],"countries":["CN"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Ben Wang","raw_affiliation_strings":["College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7037-3660","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I180726961"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5006427311","display_name":"Bradley J. Nelson","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9070-6987"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I35440088","display_name":"ETH Zurich","ror":"https://ror.org/05a28rw58","country_code":"CH","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I2799323385","https://openalex.org/I35440088"]}],"countries":["CH"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Bradley J. Nelson","raw_affiliation_strings":["Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9070-6987","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Multi-Scale Robotics Lab, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I35440088"]}]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5100425709","display_name":"Li Zhang","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1152-8962"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I177725633","display_name":"Chinese University of Hong Kong","ror":"https://ror.org/00t33hh48","country_code":"HK","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I177725633"]}],"countries":["HK"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Li Zhang","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Mechanical, and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong","Department of Surgery, The Chow Yuk Ho Technology Centre for Innovative Medicine, and CUHK-T Stone Robotics Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1152-8962","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Mechanical, and Automation Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Hong Kong","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I177725633"]},{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Surgery, The Chow Yuk Ho Technology Centre for Innovative Medicine, and CUHK-T Stone Robotics Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I177725633"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":3,"institutions_distinct_count":5,"corresponding_author_ids":[],"corresponding_institution_ids":[],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":11.0013,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":124,"citation_normalized_percentile":{"value":0.990679,"is_in_top_1_percent":true,"is_in_top_10_percent":true},"cited_by_percentile_year":{"min":99,"max":100},"biblio":{"volume":"38","issue":"3","first_page":"1531","last_page":"1551"},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11486","display_name":"Micro and Nano Robotics","score":1.0,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/3104","display_name":"Condensed Matter Physics"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/31","display_name":"Physics and Astronomy"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11486","display_name":"Micro and Nano Robotics","score":1.0,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/3104","display_name":"Condensed Matter Physics"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/31","display_name":"Physics and Astronomy"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T12784","display_name":"Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence","score":0.9977999925613403,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2210","display_name":"Mechanical Engineering"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/22","display_name":"Engineering"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T13052","display_name":"Molecular Communication and Nanonetworks","score":0.9933000206947327,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/2204","display_name":"Biomedical Engineering"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/22","display_name":"Engineering"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/swarm-behaviour","display_name":"Swarm behaviour","score":0.8988958597183228},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/swarm-robotics","display_name":"Swarm robotics","score":0.8262911438941956},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/robotics","display_name":"Robotics","score":0.6035603880882263},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/artificial-intelligence","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","score":0.6029735803604126},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/computer-science","display_name":"Computer science","score":0.49829959869384766},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/robot","display_name":"Robot","score":0.46891364455223083},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/engineering","display_name":"Engineering","score":0.4349171221256256},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/control-engineering","display_name":"Control engineering","score":0.38740989565849304}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C181335050","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14915018","display_name":"Swarm behaviour","level":2,"score":0.8988958597183228},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C169337768","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2446723","display_name":"Swarm robotics","level":3,"score":0.8262911438941956},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C34413123","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q170978","display_name":"Robotics","level":3,"score":0.6035603880882263},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C154945302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","level":1,"score":0.6029735803604126},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.49829959869384766},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C90509273","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11012","display_name":"Robot","level":2,"score":0.46891364455223083},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C127413603","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11023","display_name":"Engineering","level":0,"score":0.4349171221256256},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C133731056","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4917288","display_name":"Control engineering","level":1,"score":0.38740989565849304}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":1,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.1109/tro.2021.3111788","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1109/tro.2021.3111788","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S144620930","display_name":"IEEE Transactions on Robotics","issn_l":"1552-3098","issn":["1552-3098","1546-1904","1941-0468"],"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":true,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/P4310319808","host_organization_name":"Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/P4310319808"],"host_organization_lineage_names":["Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers"],"type":"journal"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"IEEE Transactions on Robotics","raw_type":"journal-article"}],"best_oa_location":null,"sustainable_development_goals":[],"awards":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/G291203047","display_name":null,"funder_award_id":"CAS20403","funder_id":"https://openalex.org/F4320320904","funder_display_name":"Croucher Foundation"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/G2915648747","display_name":null,"funder_award_id":"RCBS20200714114920190","funder_id":"https://openalex.org/F4320326705","funder_display_name":"Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/G6001942740","display_name":null,"funder_award_id":"2021A1515010672","funder_id":"https://openalex.org/F4320337111","funder_display_name":"Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province"}],"funders":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320320904","display_name":"Croucher Foundation","ror":"https://ror.org/04741mc34"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320322942","display_name":"Chinese University of Hong Kong","ror":"https://ror.org/00t33hh48"},{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320326705","display_name":"Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality","ror":null},{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320327048","display_name":"Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent Systems","ror":null},{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320337111","display_name":"Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province","ror":null}],"has_content":{"grobid_xml":false,"pdf":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":173,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W223570703","https://openalex.org/W561848945","https://openalex.org/W1060861436","https://openalex.org/W1557064277","https://openalex.org/W1563854433","https://openalex.org/W1775993386","https://openalex.org/W1936889252","https://openalex.org/W1951717626","https://openalex.org/W1965879679","https://openalex.org/W1967903957","https://openalex.org/W1973078839","https://openalex.org/W1976221960","https://openalex.org/W1976709804","https://openalex.org/W1978265156","https://openalex.org/W1980304178","https://openalex.org/W1982786114","https://openalex.org/W1988298906","https://openalex.org/W1991115160","https://openalex.org/W1993564806","https://openalex.org/W1994710268","https://openalex.org/W1999116645","https://openalex.org/W2000519741","https://openalex.org/W2001962804","https://openalex.org/W2002287254","https://openalex.org/W2006933785","https://openalex.org/W2007646080","https://openalex.org/W2024212821","https://openalex.org/W2030775133","https://openalex.org/W2034630023","https://openalex.org/W2036220883","https://openalex.org/W2039487102","https://openalex.org/W2042324892","https://openalex.org/W2048357552","https://openalex.org/W2054381558","https://openalex.org/W2054886579","https://openalex.org/W2056579700","https://openalex.org/W2056804195","https://openalex.org/W2058368934","https://openalex.org/W2059244800","https://openalex.org/W2059519116","https://openalex.org/W2062246695","https://openalex.org/W2064780780","https://openalex.org/W2066400670","https://openalex.org/W2066747160","https://openalex.org/W2066934245","https://openalex.org/W2070938862","https://openalex.org/W2089664648","https://openalex.org/W2092849848","https://openalex.org/W2094796932","https://openalex.org/W2094904022","https://openalex.org/W2101686789","https://openalex.org/W2106432009","https://openalex.org/W2113788599","https://openalex.org/W2116649306","https://openalex.org/W2118331730","https://openalex.org/W2126554879","https://openalex.org/W2127683394","https://openalex.org/W2134291982","https://openalex.org/W2135051422","https://openalex.org/W2152957667","https://openalex.org/W2153084626","https://openalex.org/W2160239037","https://openalex.org/W2161381314","https://openalex.org/W2165431589","https://openalex.org/W2168046319","https://openalex.org/W2191312089","https://openalex.org/W2202599725","https://openalex.org/W2261036342","https://openalex.org/W2269832639","https://openalex.org/W2273716998","https://openalex.org/W2296482605","https://openalex.org/W2296742912","https://openalex.org/W2316039334","https://openalex.org/W2327928095","https://openalex.org/W2344308642","https://openalex.org/W2415748334","https://openalex.org/W2468824508","https://openalex.org/W2490229232","https://openalex.org/W2515051096","https://openalex.org/W2520884238","https://openalex.org/W2522831503","https://openalex.org/W2543293475","https://openalex.org/W2559787613","https://openalex.org/W2562823813","https://openalex.org/W2567990716","https://openalex.org/W2575383569","https://openalex.org/W2583942594","https://openalex.org/W2588307016","https://openalex.org/W2594355207","https://openalex.org/W2599430572","https://openalex.org/W2608280010","https://openalex.org/W2611552586","https://openalex.org/W2646691973","https://openalex.org/W2735010709","https://openalex.org/W2735256296","https://openalex.org/W2752896494","https://openalex.org/W2758520044","https://openalex.org/W2759438313","https://openalex.org/W2770449782","https://openalex.org/W2771411126","https://openalex.org/W2781079832","https://openalex.org/W2783069514","https://openalex.org/W2787690100","https://openalex.org/W2789960013","https://openalex.org/W2792021496","https://openalex.org/W2793445062","https://openalex.org/W2803808865","https://openalex.org/W2806432597","https://openalex.org/W2811228695","https://openalex.org/W2884067437","https://openalex.org/W2884519054","https://openalex.org/W2886401384","https://openalex.org/W2886974401","https://openalex.org/W2888202977","https://openalex.org/W2891693504","https://openalex.org/W2898681393","https://openalex.org/W2901555207","https://openalex.org/W2901573267","https://openalex.org/W2905359332","https://openalex.org/W2911757331","https://openalex.org/W2923870875","https://openalex.org/W2924849247","https://openalex.org/W2937958035","https://openalex.org/W2941947312","https://openalex.org/W2942397861","https://openalex.org/W2948026388","https://openalex.org/W2952134512","https://openalex.org/W2963596362","https://openalex.org/W2964757659","https://openalex.org/W2971724474","https://openalex.org/W2972539416","https://openalex.org/W2977259435","https://openalex.org/W2980790222","https://openalex.org/W2982384915","https://openalex.org/W2982701236","https://openalex.org/W2991130017","https://openalex.org/W2991540136","https://openalex.org/W3002090336","https://openalex.org/W3002176620","https://openalex.org/W3003238796","https://openalex.org/W3006284129","https://openalex.org/W3006424106","https://openalex.org/W3007500699","https://openalex.org/W3008761003","https://openalex.org/W3016450831","https://openalex.org/W3022487831","https://openalex.org/W3024821592","https://openalex.org/W3028234089","https://openalex.org/W3030559520","https://openalex.org/W3031804879","https://openalex.org/W3046825707","https://openalex.org/W3047284523","https://openalex.org/W3081573251","https://openalex.org/W3090625250","https://openalex.org/W3090761418","https://openalex.org/W3095434699","https://openalex.org/W3102798107","https://openalex.org/W3103127549","https://openalex.org/W3104118091","https://openalex.org/W3111019671","https://openalex.org/W3119460326","https://openalex.org/W3120015428","https://openalex.org/W3120938527","https://openalex.org/W3130170116","https://openalex.org/W3132687353","https://openalex.org/W3137030540","https://openalex.org/W3137480660","https://openalex.org/W3139518839","https://openalex.org/W3169707058","https://openalex.org/W4231079420","https://openalex.org/W4241469124","https://openalex.org/W4246696534","https://openalex.org/W4251487541"],"related_works":["https://openalex.org/W1871202614","https://openalex.org/W4233987368","https://openalex.org/W65954170","https://openalex.org/W1988876749","https://openalex.org/W3094438089","https://openalex.org/W2518382144","https://openalex.org/W1966857494","https://openalex.org/W2901195353","https://openalex.org/W2590712470","https://openalex.org/W2530004804"],"abstract_inverted_index":{"The":[0],"small":[1],"size":[2],"and":[3,40,52,75,113,118,131,139,165],"wireless":[4],"actuation":[5,104],"of":[6,29,63,67,96,124,150,167,174,189,193],"microrobots":[7,18,78],"make":[8],"them":[9],"potential":[10],"candidates":[11],"for":[12,77,99,141],"minimally":[13],"invasive":[14],"medicine.":[15],"To":[16],"advance":[17],"to":[19,136,154,179],"future":[20,142,191],"clinical":[21],"application,":[22],"microrobotics":[23,84,144,152],"researchers":[24],"have":[25],"investigated":[26],"a":[27,37,46,64],"number":[28],"key":[30],"issues,":[31],"in":[32,129],"which":[33,81],"swarm":[34,66,83,87,110,115,143,151,156,194],"control":[35,62,116,166],"is":[36,41,79],"primary":[38],"challenge":[39],"attracting":[42],"increasing":[43],"attention.":[44],"As":[45],"single":[47],"microrobot":[48,125,168,175],"has":[49],"limited":[50],"volume":[51],"surface":[53],"area,":[54],"clinically":[55],"relevant":[56],"tasks,":[57],"includingin-vivotracking,":[58],"usually":[59],"require":[60],"simultaneous":[61],"large":[65],"microrobots.":[68],"Unlike":[69],"macroscale":[70],"robots,":[71],"implementing":[72],"on-board":[73],"actuators":[74],"sensors":[76],"challenging,":[80],"differentiates":[82],"from":[85],"other":[86],"robotics":[88],"approaches.":[89],"This":[90],"article":[91,159],"systematically":[92],"summarizes":[93],"the":[94,97,147,162,190],"state":[95],"art":[98],"this":[100,158],"emerging":[101],"field,":[102],"including":[103],"systems":[105],"with":[106],"different":[107],"power":[108],"sources,":[109],"behaviors":[111],"modeling":[112],"simulation,":[114,164],"strategies,":[117],"targeted":[119],"biomedical":[120,172],"applications.":[121],"Actuation":[122],"principles":[123],"swarms":[126,176],"are":[127,134,177],"categorized":[128],"detail,":[130],"critical":[132],"comparisons":[133],"made":[135],"provide":[137,186],"guidance":[138],"insight":[140],"researchers.":[145],"Considering":[146],"unique":[148],"features":[149],"compared":[153],"traditional":[155],"robotics,":[157],"also":[160],"emphasizes":[161],"modeling,":[163],"swarms.":[169],"Furthermore,":[170],"recent":[171],"applications":[173],"summarized":[178],"illustrate":[180],"specific":[181],"application":[182],"scenarios.":[183],"Finally,":[184],"we":[185],"an":[187],"assessment":[188],"directions":[192],"microrobotics.":[195]},"counts_by_year":[{"year":2026,"cited_by_count":11},{"year":2025,"cited_by_count":38},{"year":2024,"cited_by_count":32},{"year":2023,"cited_by_count":27},{"year":2022,"cited_by_count":16}],"updated_date":"2026-08-01T09:00:35.917206","created_date":"2025-10-10T00:00:00"}
