Intelligent electroactive material systems with self-adaptive mechanical memory and sequential logic.

By synthesizing the requisite functionalities of intelligence in an integrated material system, it may become possible to animate otherwise inanimate matter. A significant challenge in this vision is to continually sense, process, and memorize information in a decentralized way. Here, we introduce an approach that enables all such functionalities in a soft mechanical material system.

Mechanical integrated circuit materials.

Recent developments in autonomous engineered matter have introduced the ability for intelligent materials to process environmental stimuli and functionally adapt. To formulate a foundation for such an engineered living material paradigm, researchers have introduced sensing and actuating functionalities in soft matter. Yet, information processing is the key functional element of autonomous engineered matter that has been recently explored through unconventional techniques with limited computing scalability.

Digital logic gates in soft, conductive mechanical metamaterials.

Integrated circuits utilize networked logic gates to compute Boolean logic operations that are the foundation of modern computation and electronics. With the emergence of flexible electronic materials and devices, an opportunity exists to formulate digital logic from compliant, conductive materials. Here, we introduce a general method of leveraging cellular, mechanical metamaterials composed of conductive polymers to realize all digital logic gates and gate assemblies.