Scientists in Amsterdam, Leiden and Tel Aviv manage to design the first mechanical meta materials that can change into any predefined shape. They call these machine materials. Our lab has been creating mechanical meta materials for a couple of years now. So far, these are periodic structures made from repeating the same building block over and over again. As a consequence, these materials are homogeneous. They're the same everywhere and they cannot change into complex shapes. So we were wondering if we could create and design more complex meta materials that can morph into any shape that we want. Step 1 was to design a functional building block such as this flexible cube. Step 2 was to stack many copies of this building block. To form what we call a meta cube. In this example, we have a periodic meta material which when compressed, changes shape and morphs into a complex 3D, yet regular and homogeneous structure. So we wondered what would happen if instead of stacking the building block periodically like sugar cubes in a box, we would stack the blocks with different orientations. And we realized that this would work if the protrusions and dents at the surface of each block could fit from neighbor to neighbor. This way, the whole meta cube can deform in harmony. Together with our colleagues in Israel, we solved this 3D puzzle and discovered that the possibilities are nearly endless. The ordering of the blocks is like DNA as it encodes the functionality of the meta cube. We then use 3D printing to bring these meta cubes to life and study the properties here in the lab. One cool property is that we can rationally design the orientation of the building block and create a meta cube whose surface can morph into any texture we want. We also realized that those meta cubes can sense and analyze mechanically patterns. These functionalities are more machine-like and so we called these machine materials. Machine materials may find applications in prosthetics and wearable tech. The body is constantly in motion and you can design such materials to follow along with this motion. We're also thinking about sensing and actuation applications for soft robotics and for the future we're thinking about reprogrammable materials. Think for instance of a cube that can both have an unhappy and a happy face.