Colloidal active matter mimics the behaviour of biological microorganisms: an overview

This manuscript provides a review of recent development of biomimicking behaviours in active colloids. While the behaviour of biological microswimmers is undoubtedly influenced by physics, it is frequently guided and manipulated by active sensing processes. Understanding the respective influences of the surrounding environment can help engineering the desired response also in artificial swimmers. More often than not, the achievement of biomimicking behaviour requires the understanding of both biological and artificial microswimmers swimming mechanisms and the parameters inducing mechanosensory responses. The comparison of both classes of microswimmers provides with analogies in their dependence on fuels, interaction with boundaries and stimuli induced motion, or taxis.