Reconfigurable soft metamaterials
A new class of reconfigurable metamaterials enables the creation of soft robots and mechanical devices which morph their shape into versatile new forms. Instead of using electrical signals and actuators, the polymeric structures are solely based on mechanical signals and can be programmed to accommodate complex motion.
A collaboration between the Mechanics & Materials Lab and the Bertoldi Group at Harvard University has created a new class of reconfigurable metamaterials that enable the preprogramming of complex motion through structural design. The structural architecture is characterized by a periodic or functionally graded design of a unit cell, the fundamental building block, which possesses two (or more) stable configurations. When a mechanical impulse or signal is applied, the material can transform from one state to another through propagating transition waves. We have demonstrated a variety of potential applications with opportunities for soft robots and signal processing.