CC BY 4.0 UnportedLomora, MihaiLarrañaga, AitorRodriguez-Emmenegger, CesarRodriguez, BrianDinu, Ionel AdrianSarasua, Jose-RamonPandit, Abhay2022-03-252022-03-252021https://oa.tib.eu/renate/handle/123456789/8383https://doi.org/10.34657/7421Translating energy into swarming motion for miniature entities remains a challenge. This translation requires simultaneously breaking the symmetry of the system to enable locomotion and a coupling effect between the objects that are part of the population to induce the collective motion. Here, we report on Robocoliths, engineered Emiliania huxleyi (EHUX) coccolith-based miniature hybrid entities capable of swarming behavior. EHUX coccoliths are characterized by an asymmetric morphology that allows breaking symmetry, playing a central role in generating a net force and directed motion. Their activation with the bioinspired material polydopamine not only endows the asymmetric coccoliths with advanced functionalities, such as thermal- and energy-harvesting responsiveness under visible light exposure to display a collective behavior (i.e., swarming), but it also provides a functional surface from which antifouling polymer brushes are grown. In this context, Robocoliths pave the way for the next generation of multifunctional swarming bio-micromachines. © 2021 The Author(s)Establishment of controlled nano- and mesoscopic energized entities that gather, in a concerted effort, into motile aggregated patterns is at the forefront of scientific discovery. Lomora et al. report on coccolith-polydopamine hybrids (Robocoliths) that heat and move collectively upon light excitation and accommodate antifouling brushes on their surface. © 2021 The Author(s)enghttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/530antifouling polymer brushescoccolithlight-drivenpolydopaminepolydopamine-coccolith hybridsRobocolithsswarming micro-objectstemperature-generatingArticle