# Autonomous navigation of shape-shifting microswimmers

## TL;DR

This paper presents a method to program autonomous navigation in shape-shifting microswimmers by encoding behaviors like chemotaxis through particle shape and stimulus response, demonstrated with self-phoretic sphere clusters.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to control microswimmer navigation by designing particle geometry and stimulus response, enabling multiple autonomous behaviors.

## Key findings

- Successfully encoded chemotaxis behaviors in microswimmers.
- Demonstrated shape-shifting particles respond to stimuli to navigate.
- Multiple autonomous behaviors achieved through design.

## Abstract

We describe a method for programming the autonomous navigation of active colloidal particles in response to spatial gradients in a scalar stimulus. Functional behaviors such as positive or negative chemotaxis are encoded in the particle shape, which responds to the local stimulus and directs self-propelled particle motions. We demonstrate this approach using a physical model of stimuli-responsive clusters of self-phoretic spheres. We show how multiple autonomous behaviors can be achieved by designing the particle geometry and its stimulus response.