Rubik’s cube as in-situ programmable matter and a reconfigurable mechanical metamaterial

Shao Wei Zhu, Huan Chen, Xiao Qiang Yang, Li Tan, Shuai Jin, Li Ming Chen, Tao Liu, Xiao Jun Tan, Lian Chao Wang, Bing Wang, Kadic Muamer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

As part of the 4th industrial revolution, programmable mechanical metamaterials exhibit great application potential in flexible robotics, vibration control, and impact protection. However, maintaining a programmed state without sustaining the external stimulus is often challenging and leads to additional energy consumption. Inspired by Rubik’s cube, we design and study an in-situ programmable and distribution-reconfigurable mechanical metamaterial (IPDR-MM). A matrix model is developed to model IPDR-MMs and describe their morphological transitions. Based on this model, the reinforcement learning method is employed to find the pathways for morphological transitions. We find that IPDR-MMs have controllable stiffness across several orders of magnitude and a wide range of adjustable anisotropies through morphology transformation. Additionally, because of the independence of the directions of morphology transformation and bearing, IPDR-MMs exhibit good stability in bearing and can readily achieve high stiffness. The Rubik’s cube-inspired design concept is also instructive for other deformable structures and metamaterials, and the current version of the proposal should be sufficiently illustrative to attract and broaden interdisciplinary interests.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3221-3234
Number of pages14
JournalScience China Technological Sciences
Volume67
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2024

Keywords

  • Rubik’s cube
  • controllable stiffness and anisotropy
  • distribution-reconfigurable
  • in-situ programmable
  • mechanical metamaterials

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