What are coded magnets?

Coded magnets are magnets whose North and South regions are arranged in a designed pattern, or code, instead of one plain North pole and one plain South pole. Because of the code, the magnet's force can be programmed to attract, repel, hold, spring, self-align, or latch.

Why do coded magnets attract when aligned but repel when shifted?

The pole pattern is a correlation code borrowed from radar and RF, such as a Barker code. When two matching codes line up perfectly, every attracting pair overlaps and the force peaks. Shift the code by even one element and attracting and repelling pairs cancel, so the magnets weaken or push apart.

A maxel is a single magnetic element — one coded cell of North or South — that acts like a pixel of the overall pattern. Many maxels arranged in a code make up one coded magnet.

Who invented coded magnets?

Correlated magnetics was developed by Larry Fullerton beginning in 2008 and commercialized under the Polymagnet brand.

Correlated · Programmable · Multipole

Magnets you can
program.

A coded magnet arranges its North and South regions in a designed pattern — so it can attract, repel, hold, or latch on command instead of just sticking.

See how the code works The behaviors

Correlation demo — shift the lower code

code = + + + − − + − (Barker-7)

MAGNET A

MAGNET B

FORCE

SNAP — full attract

offset 0 · correlation +7

Shift B

Section 01

What makes a magnet “coded”

An ordinary magnet has one plain North pole and one plain South pole. A coded magnet instead prints many small magnetic cells — each called a maxel — across its face in a deliberate pattern of pluses and minuses.

That pattern is a correlation code borrowed straight from radar and RF, where sequences like the Barker code are prized because they give one sharp spike when two matching signals line up and near-nothing when they don't.

Apply the same idea to magnetism: when two magnets carry matching codes and sit perfectly aligned, every attracting pair overlaps and the pull peaks. Slide one over by a single maxel and attracting and repelling pairs cancel — so the force collapses or flips to a push. The code, not the material, is what you're programming.

Each cell is one maxel. The arrangement is the code.

Section 02

The behaviors

One family of magnet, programmed six different ways. Each is a property of the code — set at design time, then repeatable.

Attract on contact

Matching codes aligned face-to-face pull together hard — often stronger, pound-for-pound, than a plain magnet of the same size.

Repel

Shift or mismatch the code and the same faces push apart, giving a controllable repulsion where an ordinary magnet would simply flip.

Hold at a distance / spring

Layered attract-and-repel codes create a stable gap — the pair floats at a set spacing or acts like a contactless magnetic spring.

Self-align

Off-center or rotated, the code’s peak pulls the parts into one exact orientation and snaps them into registration.

Latch & release

Firm hold in the aligned position, then a small twist or slide drops the correlation to zero and the parts let go with almost no effort.

Coded-pair only

A magnet engages strongly only with its matching code — a mechanical key-and-lock, ignoring magnets that carry a different pattern.

Section 03

Where they’re used

Anywhere a magnet needs to do more than stick — hold at a gap, align a part, key a connector, or let go on cue.

SECTOR / 01

Aerospace & defense

Self-aligning couplings and quick-release fixtures where precision and controlled hold-and-let-go matter.

SECTOR / 02

Medical devices

Keyed, coded-pair connections and safe hold-at-distance forces in instruments and implance-adjacent hardware.

SECTOR / 03

Robotics

Snap-together end effectors and tool changers that self-align on contact and release on command.

SECTOR / 04

Automotive & EV

Vibration-resistant latches, alignment aids, and contactless magnetic springs in tight assemblies.

SECTOR / 05

Consumer electronics

Attach points and connectors that align themselves and engage only their matching coded partner.

Ready to build

Get coded magnets

Coded magnets are made and sold commercially under the Polymagnet brand, based on Larry Fullerton’s correlated magnetics work.

polymagnet.com →

Magnets you canprogram.