Title: Active mechanical metamaterials: from wave guiding to robotics.

Speaker: Corentin Coulais (UvA)

Abstract:

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 active matter—in which microscopic interactions are asymmetric and non-conservative—can be used to steer mechanical waves in unprecedented ways. Combining experiments active mechanical metamaterials with wave physics and continuum and topological mechanics, I will discuss the emergence of the non-Hermitian skin effect, of non-Hermitian topological waves and of one-way solitons. I will further show how these odd waves can be used to induce locomotion and unusual responses to impacts and hence pave the way towards a novel generation of robots.