Swarm intelligence

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Biological system

Polystyrene

Biology

Machine learning

Nanorod

Swarm robotics

Swarm behaviour

Artificial intelligence

Composite material

Active matter

Chemistry

Materials science

Microbead (research)

Computer science

Cell biology

Polymer

Biochemistry

Particle swarm optimization

Collective intelligence

Nature Nanotechnology

Active matters are out-of-equilibrium systems that convert energy from the environment to mechanical motion. Non-reciprocal interaction between active matters may lead to collective intelligence beyond the capability of individuals. In nature, such emergent behaviours are ubiquitously observed in animal colonies, giving these species remarkable adaptive capability. In artificial systems, however, the emergence of non-trivial collective intelligent dynamics remains undiscovered. Here we show that a simple ion-exchange reaction can couple self-propelled ZnO nanorods and sulfonated polystyrene microbeads together. Chemical communication is established that enhances the reactivity and motion of both nanorods and the microbeads, resulting in the formation of an active swarm of nanorod–microbead complexes. We demonstrate that the swarm is capable of macroscopic phase segregation and intelligent consensus decision-making. An ion-exchange reaction couples self-propelling ZnO nanorods and sulfonated polystyrene microbeads to create an aggregated swarm system capable of quorum sensing.

Ion-exchange enabled synthetic swarm