Shape-morphing systems, which can perform complex tasks through morphological transformations, are of great interest for future applications in minimally invasive medicine1,2, soft robotics3–6, active metamaterials7 and smart surfaces8. With current fabrication methods, shape-morphing configurations have been embedded into structural design by, for example, spatial distribution of heterogeneous materials9–14, which cannot be altered once fabricated. The systems are therefore restricted to a single type of transformation that is predetermined by their geometry. Here we develop a strategy to encode multiple shape-morphing instructions into a micromachine by programming the magnetic configurations of arrays of single-domain nanomagnets on connected panels. This programming is achieved by applying a specific sequence of magnetic fields to nanomagnets with suitably tailored switching fields, and results in specific shape transformations of the customized micromachines under an applied magnetic field. Using this concept, we have built an assembly of modular units that can be programmed to morph into letters of the alphabet, and we have constructed a microscale ‘bird’ capable of complex behaviours, including ‘flapping’, ‘hovering’, ‘turning’ and ‘side-slipping’. This establishes a route for the creation of future intelligent microsystems that are reconfigurable and reprogrammable in situ, and that can therefore adapt to complex situations. A micromachine less than 100 micrometres across, made of arrays of nanomagnets on hinged panels, is encoded with multiple shape transformations and actuated with a magnetic field.

中文翻译：

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变形微机械的纳米磁性编码

形状变形系统可以通过形态变换执行复杂的任务，对于未来在微创医学 1,2、软机器人 3-6、活性超材料 7 和智能表面 8 中的应用具有重要意义。使用当前的制造方法，形状变形配置已被嵌入到结构设计中，例如，异质材料 9-14 的空间分布，一旦制造就无法改变。因此，系统仅限于由其几何形状预先确定的单一类型的变换。在这里，我们开发了一种策略，通过对连接面板上的单域纳米磁铁阵列的磁性配置进行编程，将多个形状变形指令编码到微型机器中。这种编程是通过将特定的磁场序列应用到具有适当定制的开关场的纳米磁铁来实现的，并导致定制的微机械在施加的磁场下发生特定的形状变换。使用这个概念，我们构建了一个模块化单元的组件，可以通过编程来变形为字母表中的字母，并且我们构建了一个能够进行复杂行为的微型“鸟”，包括“拍打”、“悬停”、“转动”和'侧滑'。这为创建可在原位重新配置和重新编程的未来智能微系统建立了一条途径，因此可以适应复杂的情况。一个直径小于 100 微米的微型机器，由铰链板上的纳米磁铁阵列制成，