title: Remote control of self-assembled microswimmers.
abstract: Physics governing the locomotion of microorganisms and other microsystems is dominated by viscous damping. An effective swimming strategy involves the non-reciprocal and periodic deformations of the considered body. Here, we show that a magnetocapillary-driven self-assembly, composed of three soft ferromagnetic beads, is able to swim along a liquid-air interface when powered by an external magnetic field. More importantly, we demonstrate that trajectories can be fully controlled, opening ways to explore low Reynolds number swimming. This magnetocapillary system spontaneously forms by self-assembly, allowing miniaturization and other possible applications such as cargo transport or solvent flows.
authors.affiliation: GRASP, Institute of Physics B5a, University of Liège, B4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grosjean
authors.affiliation: GRASP, Institute of Physics B5a, University of Liège, B4000 Liège, Belgium.|Departemento de Física, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Santiago de Chile.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lagubeau
authors.affiliation: GRASP, Institute of Physics B5a, University of Liège, B4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Darras
authors.affiliation: GRASP, Institute of Physics B5a, University of Liège, B4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hubert
authors.affiliation: GRASP, Institute of Physics B5a, University of Liège, B4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lumay
authors.affiliation: GRASP, Institute of Physics B5a, University of Liège, B4000 Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vandewalle