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Small satellites such as CubeSats pose demanding requirements on the weight, size, and multifunctionality of their structures due to extreme constraints on the payload mass and volume. To address this challenge, we introduce a concept of…
Active colloidal particles provide versatile model systems for exploring non-equilibrium physics in motile matter. To date, most experimental realizations have focused on spherical particles, largely due to fabrication constraints. However,…
Self-healing silicones that are able to restore the functionalities and extend the lifetime of soft devices hold great potential in many applications. However, currently available silicones need to be triggered to self-heal or suffer from…
Using full 3D finite element simulation and underlining Hamiltonian models, we demonstrate reconfigurable photonic analogues of topological insulators on a regular lattice of tunable posts in a re-entrant 3D lumped element type system. The…
The self-assembly of polymer grafted nanoparticles is more and more used in the field of functional materials. However, there is still a lack of analysis on the dynamic transformation paths of different self-assembly morphologies, which…
Many proposals have already been made for realizing programmable matter, ranging from shape-changing molecules, DNA tiles, and synthetic cells to reconfigurable modular robotics. Envisioning systems of nano-sensors devices, we are…
Machines enabled the Industrial Revolution and are central to modern technological progress: A machine's parts transmit forces, motion, and energy to one another in a predetermined manner. Today's engineering frontier, building artificial…
Self-assembly is a process which is ubiquitous in natural, especially biological systems. It occurs when groups of relatively simple components spontaneously combine to form more complex structures. While such systems have inspired a large…
Although research studies in pneumatic soft robots develop rapidly, most pneumatic actuators are still controlled by rigid valves and conventional electronics. The existence of these rigid, electronic components sacrifices the compliance…
Mechanical metamaterials capable of large deformations are an emerging platform for functional devices and structures across scales. Bistable designs are particularly attractive since they endow a single object with two configurations that…
We investigate associative-memory behavior in a reconfigurable particle packing programmed by purely local cyclic driving. The system is a two-dimensional bidisperse Lennard--Jones particle assembly with periodic boundaries evolved under…
Extreme deformation can drastically morph a structure from one structural form into another. Programming such deformation properties into the structure is often challenging and in many cases an impossible task. The morphed forms do not hold…
Impressive animal locomotion capabilities are mediated by the co-evolution of the skeletal morphology and muscular properties. Legged robot performance would also likely benefit from the co-optimization of actuators and leg morphology.…
This paper presents a mechanically bistable mechanism of the compressed pre-curved beam. A governing equation is proposed which can be used to predict and explain the bistability of the compressed pre-curved beam. FE simulations and…
We describe a computational model for studying the complexity of self-assembled structures with active molecular components. Our model captures notions of growth and movement ubiquitous in biological systems. The model is inspired by…
Three-dimensional (3D) printing of bioelectronics offers a versatile platform for fabricating personalized and structurally integrated electronic systems within biological scaffolds. Biodegradable electronics, which naturally dissolve after…
Soft robots are known for their ability to perform tasks with great adaptability, enabled by their distributed, non-uniform stiffness and actuation. Bending is the most fundamental motion for soft robot design, but creating robust, and…
Self-assembly refers to the process by which small, simple components mix and combine to form complex structures using only local interactions. Designed as a hybrid between tile assembly models and cellular automata, the Tile Automata (TA)…
Soft machines display shape adaptation to external circumstances due to their intrinsic compliance. To achieve increasingly more responsive behaviors upon interactions without relying on centralized computation, embodying memory directly in…
Randomly crumpled sheets have shape memory. In order to understand the basis of this form of memory, we simulate triangular lattices of springs whose lengths are altered to create a topography with multiple potential energy minima. We then…