Emergence of non-reciprocity in slender microswimmers through mechanosensory feedback in a CPG network

Swimming in a fluid results in an interplay between elasticity, hydrodynamic interaction and internal activity. At microscopic scale, non-reciprocity of the deformation cycle as a result of this interplay is crucial to produce a net displacement. Understanding how non-reciprocity emerges within internal activity is key to understand living matter, and to design innovative controllers for smart, autonomous robotics. In this talk, I present a model where activity is encapsulated into a network of coupled oscillators (CPGs), inspired by spinal networks found in C. elegans and recent studies on robotic swimmers. Remarkably, we show that non-reciprocity can be obtained through hydrodynamic mechanosensory feedback. Then, I will show how to leverage this mechanism to design adaptive locomotion strategies resembling C. elegans’ « omega-turn » dynamics.