Shuttling protocols designed by shortcut-to-adiabaticity techniques may suffer from perturbations and imperfect implementations. We study the motional excitation of a single ion shuttled in harmonic traps with time-dependent, 'systematic' oscillatory perturbations around the nominal parameters. These elementary perturbations could form any other by superposition. Robust shuttling strategies are proposed and compared, and optimizations are performed. This article is part of the theme issue 'Shortcuts to adiabaticity: theoretical, experimental and interdisciplinary perspectives'.
Keywords: particle shuttling; shortcuts to adiabaticity.