Other Magnetically Powered Robots. Robots controlled by magnetic fields of various types are nothing new. Some of them are microscopic and some are larger so they can be deployed medically in a human body. Some use computer controlled electromagnets and some use movable permanent magnets. Here are some links to some of the best and smallest experimental magnetic robots researchers are working on. Flying magnet robot on a penny.While it doesn't actually fly, it hovers in a computer controlled magnetic field, much like those toys that suspend a small globe of the earth. SCIENCE PROJECT: motor-powered supermagnet levitation. MAKE: Blog: DIY mechanical magnetic levitation.