Tiny robots learn to swim

Intelligence without electronics

The central idea of the work is called "embodied intelligence" by the researchers. Instead of using sensors, the movement of the particles themselves serves as a source of information. Any deviation from the course reveals something about the flow - the body becomes a sensor. "This is fundamentally different from our usual idea of robot design," explains Paul. Instead of measuring flows with sensors and then calculating reactions, the researchers use the physical interaction between the particle and its environment itself as a source of information.

The principle is based on nature. For millions of years, motile microorganisms have used their body shape to orient themselves in liquids. The Leipzig researchers have now shown that machine learning can also discover similar strategies in artificial systems - and within experimentally feasible time frames.

The research could open up new applications in the long term. For example, the targeted administration of drugs in the body. Here, flows are complex and difficult to predict. In future, micro-robots capable of learning could move autonomously within them. "We are really only at the beginning," says Paul. The next challenge is to transfer the principle to more complex environments and tasks.

Publication:
Diptabrata Paul et al. ,Physical embodiment enables information processing beyond explicit flow sensing in active matter.Sci. Adv.12,eaec0783(2026).