Abstract

Active solids consume energy to allow for actuation and shape change not possible in equilibrium. I will focus on the elasticity of systems as wide-ranging as living matter, nanoparticles, and mechanical structures composed of active robotic components. I will review our work on odd elasticity and its recent experimental observations. I will then show how the design of active lattices using a variety of microscopic constituents leads to surprising relations between the building blocks and the emergent active mechanics. I will also discuss how in lattices of robots intertia and elasticity conspire and give rise to new varieties of pattern formation. These results provide a theoretical underpinning for recent experiments and point to the design of novel soft machines.