The research proposes the Local Magnetic Actuation (LMA) as an innovative approach in robotic actuation for surgical instruments. The LMA can be used to transfer mechanical power between a magnet placed outside the abdominal cavity and one embedded in an internal surgical tool. In this paper the system’s dynamic model is presented and validated, while two different control strategies are presented and discussed. The work shows how to control a magnetic coupling in order to transfer the maximal power, also showing that this approach can overcome the necessity of using embedded motors in surgical tools.