US' new robots can snap into hundreds of shapes, work on tough terrains

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new class of flat, motorless robots called "metabots," made from thin polymer sheets with patterned cutouts and coated with responsive thin films. These films act as actuators that respond to electrical or magnetic stimuli, enabling the sheets to snap into hundreds of stable shapes and execute diverse movements such as jumping, crawling, rotating, and grasping. By connecting multiple sheets, the metabots can fold into numerous configurations—up to 256 stable states with four connected units—allowing them to adapt their shape and gait to navigate complex terrains or perform various functions. The metabots leverage multistable thin-shell metastructures that store elastic energy and incorporate piezoelectric materials for controlled vibrations, enhancing their maneuverability and adaptability. This design enables energy-efficient, reconfigurable soft robotic platforms capable of operating in confined environments and performing tasks like noninvasive gripping and multi-gait locomotion. Although still at an early proof-of-concept stage, the