Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Harischandra, P. A. Diluka, Zhou, Quan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.12394
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866915291849555968
author Harischandra, P. A. Diluka
Zhou, Quan
author_facet Harischandra, P. A. Diluka
Zhou, Quan
contents Manipulating the shape of a liquid droplet is essential for a wide range of applications in medicine and industry. However, existing methods are typically limited to generating simple shapes, such as ellipses, or rely on predefined templates. Although recent approaches have demonstrated more complex geometries, they remain constrained by limited adaptability and lack of real-time control. Here, we introduce a data-efficient method that enables real-time, programmable shaping of nonmagnetic liquid droplets into diverse target forms at the air-ferrofluid interface using Bayesian optimization. The droplet can adopt either convex or concave shapes depending on the actuation of the surrounding electromagnets. Bayesian optimization determines the optimal magnetic flux density for shaping the liquid droplet into a desired target shape. Our method enables automatic shaping into various triangular and rectangular shapes with a maximum shape error of 0.81 mm, as well as into letter-like patterns. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of real-time, automatic shaping of nonmagnetic liquid droplets into desired target shapes using magnetic fields or other external energy fields.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_12394
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Data-Efficient Automatic Shaping of Liquid Droplets on an Air-Ferrofluid Interface with Bayesian Optimization
Harischandra, P. A. Diluka
Zhou, Quan
Systems and Control
Fluid Dynamics
Manipulating the shape of a liquid droplet is essential for a wide range of applications in medicine and industry. However, existing methods are typically limited to generating simple shapes, such as ellipses, or rely on predefined templates. Although recent approaches have demonstrated more complex geometries, they remain constrained by limited adaptability and lack of real-time control. Here, we introduce a data-efficient method that enables real-time, programmable shaping of nonmagnetic liquid droplets into diverse target forms at the air-ferrofluid interface using Bayesian optimization. The droplet can adopt either convex or concave shapes depending on the actuation of the surrounding electromagnets. Bayesian optimization determines the optimal magnetic flux density for shaping the liquid droplet into a desired target shape. Our method enables automatic shaping into various triangular and rectangular shapes with a maximum shape error of 0.81 mm, as well as into letter-like patterns. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of real-time, automatic shaping of nonmagnetic liquid droplets into desired target shapes using magnetic fields or other external energy fields.
title Data-Efficient Automatic Shaping of Liquid Droplets on an Air-Ferrofluid Interface with Bayesian Optimization
topic Systems and Control
Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.12394