A meta-antenna (shiny latticed material) could be incorporated into a curtain that dynamically adjusts household lighting. Here, a prototype is seen retracted (top left), expanded (bottom), and next to the latching mechanism (top right). Credit: MIT
Forget those clunky metal “bunny ears” from old TVs, MIT scientists have reinvented the antenna, and it’s got moves. This clever creation can stretch, bend, and squish itself into different shapes, all to tune into a broader range of frequencies: no gears, no motors, just pure flexibility.
Why does that matter? Well, imagine a single antenna that can adapt to changing environments, switch between different communication tasks, and even sense motion, all without needing a toolbox full of parts. That’s the magic of metamaterials, special materials whose strength and flexibility come from their geometric design.
So what can this antenna do? Think wearable gadgets that beam energy wirelessly, AR headsets that track your every move, or devices that talk to all kinds of networks without breaking a sweat.
In short, it’s an antenna that doesn’t just sit there; it performs.
The researchers also created a design tool that lets users make custom antennas from metamaterials. These designs can be easily made using a laser cutter.
Most antennas are stuck with whatever shape and function they’re built with; once made, that’s it. But MIT researchers flipped the script using auxetic metamaterials, which can shift between three different shapes. That means the antenna’s properties can change just by reshaping it; no need to build a new one.
In the prototype for a smart headphone, when the meta-antenna expands and bends, it shifts the resonance frequency by 2.6 percent, which switches the headphone mode. Credit: MIT
Even cooler? These shape changes affect how the antenna handles radio signals, which opens up a whole new way to use antennas as sensors.
Antennas usually send and receive signals, but what if they could sense things too? That’s precisely what MIT researchers explored. They wanted to build a mechanical part that could also act as a smart antenna, capable of detecting changes in its environment.
The trick lies in something called resonance frequency, the sweet spot where an antenna works best. When the antenna’s shape changes, its resonance frequency shifts. These shifts can be used to sense movement.
To make this possible, the team used metamaterials, engineered structures made of repeating units that can stretch, bend, rotate, or compress. By reshaping the material, they could tune the antenna’s frequency without rebuilding it.
“To trigger changes in resonance frequency, we either need to change the antenna’s effective length or introduce slits and holes into it. Metamaterials allow us to get those different states from only one structure,” lead author Marwa AlAlawi, a mechanical engineering graduate student at MIT.
The MIT team’s shape-shifting antenna, called the meta-antenna, is built like a sandwich: a rubbery dielectric layer in the middle, with conductive layers on top and bottom. To make it, they laser-cut the rubber sheet and sprayed on a conductive patch, turning it into a resonating “patch antenna.”
But bending and stretching this antenna wasn’t easy. Even the most flexible conductive materials started to crack under pressure.
So, after lots of trial and error, the researchers found a clever fix: coating the structure with flexible acrylic paint. This extra layer helped protect the antenna’s delicate hinges, keeping them from breaking too soon.
Using their design tool, the researchers incorporated meta-antennas into several smart devices. In experiments, they found that meta-antenna structures are durable enough to withstand more than 10,000 compressions.
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