Many organisms leverage an interplay between shape and activity to generate motion and adapt to their environment. Embedding such feedback into synthetic microrobots could eliminate the need for sensors, software, and actuators; however, current realizations at the micrometer scale are either active but rigid, or flexible but passive.

Here, Prof. Kraft will demonstrate that 3D microprinting is a powerful tool for creating anisotropic and flexible microswimmers. She will discuss how shape affects their interactions and clustering behavior,2 and introduce microstructures that integrate both activity and flexibility. Finally, Prof. Kraft will demonstrate that this minimal yet versatile design gives rise to a rich array of life-like modes of motion — including railway and undulatory locomotion, rotation, and beating — as well as emergent sense-response abilities, which enable autonomous reorientation, navigation, and collision avoidance.