Open AccessDome‐Patterned Metamaterial Sheets
Author(s) -
Faber Jakob A.,
Udani Janav P.,
Riley Katherine S.,
Studart André R.,
Arrieta Andres F.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.202001955
Subject(s) - metamaterial , bistability , nanoscopic scale , 3d printing , materials science , nanotechnology , soft robotics , dome (geology) , robotics , computer science , architecture , robot , optoelectronics , artificial intelligence , composite material , geology , paleontology , visual arts , art
Abstract The properties of conventional materials result from the arrangement of and the interaction between atoms at the nanoscale. Metamaterials have shifted this paradigm by offering property control through structural design at the mesoscale, thus broadening the design space beyond the limits of traditional materials. A family of mechanical metamaterials consisting of soft sheets featuring a patterned array of reconfigurable bistable domes is reported here. The domes in this metamaterial architecture can be reversibly inverted at the local scale to generate programmable multistable shapes and tunable mechanical responses at the global scale. By 3D printing a robotic gripper with energy‐storing skin and a structure that can memorize and compute spatially‐distributed mechanical signals, it is shown that these metamaterials are an attractive platform for novel mechanologic concepts and open new design opportunities for structures used in robotics, architecture, and biomedical applications.