Inverse design of multishape metamaterials

Abstract

Metamaterials have emerged as a promising platform to achieve on-demand shape morphing, yet so far it has been difficult to design metamaterials with more than one shape change. This study meets this challenge by introducing a sequential design strategy, where each shape change is achieved by local geometric constraints. As a result, metamaterials with multiple shape changes of arbitrary complexity can be designed. These findings highlight an inherent trade-off between design freedom and design constraints and pave the way towards multishape metamaterials with potential applications in e.g. soft robotics, mechanical computing, and mechanical self-assembly.