Harnessing Topological Wave Dynamics and Physical Computing for the Embodiment of Intelligence in Mechanical Metamaterials

About This Grant

The vision of this research project is to transform the field of adaptive structures and materials through pioneering the embodiment of intelligence in the mechanical domain of novel topological metamaterials. More specially, this research seeks to harness condensed-matter-physics-inspired topologically-protected wave networks and the computing power hidden in architected materials to achieve structures possessing the essential elements of intelligence, such as perceiving and learning information from sensory input, memorizing information, and making decision on actions. This effort looks to significantly elevate future machine autonomy with better energy efficiency, more direct mechanical interaction with the surroundings, and much higher resilience against harsh environment and cyberattack. The outcomes intend to address the emerging societal needs for highly effective, efficient, safe and secured autonomous systems, from human-centric robots, automated vehicles, and smart wearables, to self-monitoring infrastructures, widely benefiting many industries. In addition, this project will integrate its research outcomes into new teaching curricula and outreach activities, cultivating students’ interest in STEM pursuits under the inspirational theme of mechanical intelligence. The research goal is to advance the state of the art by pioneering topological wave dynamics and physical computing as the needed foundation to create and integrate the essential elements of intelligence in and through mechanical metamaterials as building blocks to achieve real-time, on-demand, and highly robust intelligent structural systems. Several research questions will be addressed: (1) How to create reconfigurable mechanical metamaterials and harness their topological states to compute and achieve mechano-intelligence? (2) How to realize topological elastic waveguide, wave networks, and higher-order topological physics in complex metamaterials? (3) How to best integrate physical reservoir computing and wave-based computing for mechano-intelligence? (4) What are the effects of the matter’s mechanical designs on its intelligent performance? (5) How should intelligence in the mechanical domain interconnect with electronics efficiently while maximizing performance? Four tasks with a combination of theoretical, computational, and experimental efforts are pursued. Task 1 aims to uncover the knowledge of creating higher-order topological physics in multidimensional mechanical metamaterials. Task 2 seeks to develop and embed physical computing in and through topological mechanical metamaterials to achieve the essential elements of intelligence. Task 3 looks to create integrated mechano-intelligence in metamaterials for autonomous engineering functionalities. Task 4 will experimentally investigate and validate the efficacy of the ideas. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.