2018/05/18 by Ran Niu, Niu, Ran, Thomas Palberg +1 · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Materials and Mechanics #FOS: Physical sciences #Micro and Nano Robotics #Modular Robots and Swarm Intelligence #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1805.07063
openalex publication_date 2018/05/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The field of active matter in general and microswimming in particular has experienced a rapid and ongoing expansion over the last decade. A particular interesting aspect is provided by artificial autonomous microswimmers constructed from individual active and inactive functional components into self-propelling complexes. Such modular microswimmers may exhibit directed motion not seen for each individual component. In this review, we focus on the establishment and recent developments in the modular approach to microswimming. We introduce the bound and dynamic prototypes, show mechanisms and types of modular swimming and discuss approaches to control the direction and speed of modular microswimmers. We conclude by highlighting some challenges faced by researchers as well as promising directions for future research in the realm of modular swimming.