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We consider programmable matter consisting of simple computational elements, called particles, that can establish and release bonds and can actively move in a self-organized way, and we investigate the feasibility of solving fundamental…
We describe a method for programming the autonomous navigation of active colloidal particles in response to spatial gradients in a scalar stimulus. Functional behaviors such as positive or negative chemotaxis are encoded in the particle…
Objects moving in fluids experience patterns of stress on their surfaces determined by their motion and the geometry of nearby boundaries. Fish and underwater robots can use these patterns for navigation. This paper extends this…
An extended interference pattern close to surface may result in both a transmissive or evanescent surface fields for large area manipulation of trapped particles. The affinity of differing particle sizes to a moving standing wave light…
When a solid body floats at the interface of a vibrating liquid bath, the relative motion between the object and interface generates outwardly propagating surface waves. It has recently been demonstrated that millimetric objects with…
Biological cells self-organize into living materials that uniquely blend structure with functionality and responsiveness to the environment. The integration of similar life-like features in man-made materials remains challenging, yet…
The use of dielectric microstructures driven by solid state lasers to accelerate charged particles or to transversely deflect them is a growing area of scientific interest with an international collaboration of researchers working to…
Many proposals have already been made for realizing programmable matter, ranging from shape-changing molecules, DNA tiles, and synthetic cells to reconfigurable modular robotics. Envisioning systems of nano-sensors devices, we are…
We report on the electrically driven rotation of $2.4~\mu$m-radius, optically levitated dielectric microspheres. Electric fields are used to apply torques to a microsphere's permanent electric dipole moment, while angular displacement is…
The transport of motile entities across modulated energy landscapes plays an important role in a range of phenomena in biology, colloidal science and solid-state physics. Here, an easily implementable strategy that allows for the collective…
Several laser techniques have been suggested and demonstrated recently for preparing polarizable molecules in rapidly spinning states with a disc-like angular distribution. We consider motion of these spinning discs in inhomogeneous fields,…
The wide availability of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) electronics that can withstand Low Earth Orbit conditions has opened avenue for wide deployment of CubeSats and small-satellites. CubeSats thanks to their low developmental and launch…
Prototype optical microscopes, built to pursue developments in advanced imaging techniques, need specific optomechanical constructions: preferably with high flexibility in the elements arrangement, easy access to the optical paths,…
Photomechanical liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are responsive polymers that can convert light directly into mechanical deformation. This unique feature makes these materials an attractive candidate for soft actuators capable of remote and…
Novel optical elements containing semitransparent wavelike films embedded into the bulk of transparent material, which form a reflection image without transmitted light distortion, are studied. The dynamic theory of light diffraction by a…
Active matter comprises self-driven units, such as bacteria and synthetic microswimmers, that can spontaneously form complex patterns and assemble into functional microdevices. These processes are possible thanks to the out-of-equilibrium…
We theoretically and experimentally demonstrate the focusing of macroscopic 3D darkness surrounded by all light in free space. The object staying in the darkness is similar to staying in an empty light capsule because light just bypasses it…
Light is extensively used to steer the motion of atoms in free space, enabling cooling and trapping of matter waves through ponderomotive forces and Doppler-mediated photon scattering. Likewise, light interaction with free electrons has…
We report spontaneous motion in a fully bio-compatible system consisting of pure water droplets in an oil-surfactant medium of squalane and monoolein. Water from the droplet is solubilized by the reverse micellar solution, creating a…
Topological phenomena typically govern the behavior of delocalized waves, giving rise to robust transport in electronic, photonic, and mechanical systems. Whether similar principles can directly control the motion of a localized particle,…