Control and controllability of microswimmers by a shearing flow

Area of Science:

• Microfluidics
• Robotics
• Control Theory

Background:

• The development of artificial microrobots and active particles necessitates effective guidance and control strategies.
• Current control methods often rely on engineered swimmer properties, like magnetic propulsion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate flow-mediated control as a general method for microswimmer guidance.
• To analyze the efficacy and robustness of this control modality in practical scenarios.

Main Methods:

• Modeling a microswimmer in a standard fluid flow and simple geometry.
• Analyzing positional control through fluid flow modulation.
• Evaluating robustness against measurement inaccuracy and rotational noise.

Main Results:

• Established the efficacy of flow-mediated control for microswimmer positioning.
• Identified key challenges and cautionary observations regarding control robustness.
• Demonstrated the need for careful assessment of control policy and behavioral robustness.

Conclusions:

• Flow-mediated control offers a general approach to microswimmer guidance.
• Practical implementation requires careful consideration of noise and inaccuracies.
• Robustness assessment is vital for designing reliable microswimmer control schemes.