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    "story_id": "mp-2026-10-30-012",
    "source_story_id": "tmp-story-continuum-robot-conveyor-coupling",
    "edition_id": "mp-2026-10-30-morning-0112",
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    "position": 12,
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    "section": "robotics",
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    "headline": "The Robot Moves Its Magnets Along Its Own Body",
    "slug": "the-robot-moves-its-magnets-along-its-own-body",
    "dek": "A 9-millimeter continuum robot uses internal conveyor belts to reposition functional elements and tune magnetic coupling stiffness during operation.",
    "summary": "A 9-millimeter continuum robot uses internal conveyor belts to reposition functional elements and tune magnetic coupling stiffness during operation.",
    "body_text": "Continuum robots usually fix sensors, magnets or other functional parts at build time. This mechanism integrates as many as three conveyor belts inside a 9-millimeter-diameter tendon-driven robot so those elements can move along the body. As a proof of concept, permanent magnets on two belts create coupling points between two continuum robots. Moving the points changes the coupled system stiffness, which followed a predictable inverse-cubic relationship with coupling location and increased with the number of points. Conveyor actuation required force comparable to or below the robot tendons. Magnetic coupling is one demonstration of the mechanism, not evidence that every payload or configuration will work inside the same diameter.",
    "why_it_matters": "A 9-millimeter continuum robot uses internal conveyor belts to reposition functional elements and tune magnetic coupling stiffness during operation.",
    "limitations": [
      "Magnetic coupling is one demonstration of the mechanism, not evidence that every payload or configuration will work inside the same diameter."
    ],
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    "first_published_at": "2026-10-30T09:00:00.000-04:00",
    "modified_at": "2026-10-30T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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        "text": "A 9-millimeter continuum robot uses internal conveyor belts to reposition functional elements and tune magnetic coupling stiffness during operation.",
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        "qualification": "Magnetic coupling is one demonstration of the mechanism, not evidence that every payload or configuration will work inside the same diameter."
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    "source_ids": [
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    "tags": [
      "continuum robots",
      "magnetic coupling",
      "mechanisms",
      "soft robotics"
    ],
    "image_url": null,
    "corrections": []
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  "sources": [
    {
      "source_id": "source-2026-10-30-012",
      "title": "arXiv preprint 2610.40600, original v1",
      "publisher": "arXiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.40600v1",
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      "source_type": "primary_research",
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      "published_at": "2026-10-28T20:00:00.000-04:00",
      "accessed_at": "2026-10-30T08:14:40.422-04:00",
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    "name": "The Machine Press",
    "url": "https://themachinepress.com",
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  "cite_this_report": {
    "title": "The Robot Moves Its Magnets Along Its Own Body",
    "publisher": "The Machine Press",
    "published_at": "2026-10-30T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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