resources from the environment into building blocks and provides energy, and the capacity to pass on some form of inheritable information to the next generation. [1] The creation of artificial life-able to replicate these behaviors-is extensively studied with droplets, vesicles, [2] and DNA nanotechnology. [3] However, these exciting approaches belong to synthetic biology and are reviewed in detail in other excellent reviews. [4] While bio-inspiration has long been a driver for game-changing developments such as airplanes, submarines, radar, and water-repelling surfaces, on the small scale we see yet relatively few such developments. [5] There are fascinating micro-organisms that have evolved over billions of years, and over the course of this process they managed to adapt in different environments. The integration of living beings into their environment is a dynamic process that requires reaction and adaptation to external conditions and stimuli; it is all the more impressive, therefore, that some bacteria have adapted to water and land, but socalled thermo-and extremophiles have even adapted to survive the harshest conditions. Potential uses for smart small scale devices are plentiful, and range from drug delivery to sensing and environmental remediation, with specific literature available on all of these. [6][7][8] The first step is often assumed to be the ability to sense certain physical or chemical changes in the surroundings, and then evaluate which condition is more favorable and adapt accordingly. Artificial micromotors mimic biological microswimmers (Figure 1) in a fully synthetic way, giving microdevices motility, previously the attribute of living systems. Due to the small scale of these devices, their sensing and signal processing capabilities are very limited; yet still, several resemblances with living microswimmers have been observed and studied, and often impressive similarities or even additional understanding can be found. The goal of this review paper is to summarize recent progress in this area, and to give insight into the physical backgrounds of such biomimetic behaviors. Comparison of Biological and Synthetic Active MatterBiological microorganisms, often referred to as "microbes," are a highly diversified collection of living entities from all three branches of the tree of life: Bacteria and Archaea, which are This article provides a review of the recent development of biomimicking behaviors in active colloids. While the behavior of biological microswimmers is undoubtedly influenced by physics, it is frequently guided and manipulated by active sensing processes. Understanding the respective influences of the surrounding environment can help to engineering the desired response also in artificial swimmers. More often than not, the achievement of biomimicking behavior requires the understanding of both biological and artificial microswimmers swimming mechanisms and the parameters inducing mechanosensory responses. The comparison of both classes of microswimmers provides with analogies in thei...