Odd metamaterials: from wave guiding to robotics

Controlling how waves propagate, attenuate, and amplify in simple, scalable geometric structures is a daunting challenge for science and technology.

In this talk, I will discuss how odd matter—in which microscopic interactions are asymmetric and non-conservative—can be used to steer mechanical waves in unprecedented ways.

Combining experiments on active mechanical metamaterials with nonlinear wave physics and continuum mechanics, I will discuss the emergence of one-way solitons, spontaneous deformation cycles, and wave coarsening.

I will further show how these odd waves can induce unusual responses to impacts and adaptive locomotion, thereby paving the way toward a novel generation of robots.