AI Helps Microrobots Learn to Swim and Navigate

A team of researchers from Santa Clara University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and the University of Hong Kong have successfully used deep reinforcement learning to teach microrobots how to swim. The new development is a major step forward in microswimming capabilities. Experts have been consistently focused on creating artificial microswimmers that can navigate similarly to naturally-occuring swimming microorganisms, such as bacteria. These microswimmers could be used for a variety of biomedical applications in the future, such as targeted drug delivery and microsurgery. Even with the focus on development, most of today's artificial microswimmers can only perform simple maneuvers with fixed locomotory gaits.