  Active colloidal systems have emerged as promising contenders for the future
of microdevices. While conventional designs have extensively exploited the use
of hard colloids, the advancement of cell-inspired architectures represents a
pivotal path towards realizing self-regulating and highly functional artificial
microswimmers. In this work, we fabricate and actuate Janus lipid vesicles
demonstrating reconfigurable motion under an AC electric field. The giant
unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) undergo spontaneous phase separation at room
temperature leading to Janus-like GUVs with two distinct lipid phases. We
report self-propulsion of the Janus GUVs via induced charge electroosmosis, in
between parallel electrodes. Remarkably, the fluid nature of the lipid membrane
affected by the electric field leads to asymmetry-symmetry transient states
resulting in run-and-tumble events supported by structure domain analysis. We
characterise an enhanced rotational diffusivity associated with tumble events,
decoupled from thermal reorientation. Lastly, we identify cargo-release
capabilities and a variety of shape-encoded dynamic modes in these vesicles.
This cell-inspired architecture provides an alternative route for creating
motile artificial cells and programmable microswimmers.
