When you think of materials, you think, for example, of iron or rubber. These are materials of which we know how they will react: for example, you can press a rubber ball, but not iron. But in the case of a metamaterial, the geometry is used to give it new properties and the material therefore reacts differently than you would expect. These properties can be used in all sorts of applications, for example to counteract vibrations in space travel, cars or trains.
Some metamaterials can even change their behaviour: multifunctional metamaterials. The researchers use the technique of 'kirigami', the sister of the well-known origami. Instead of making folds, kirigami makes cutting lines. Depending on the location of the cutting lines, a material can be shaped in all kinds of ways. In the future, this technique could be used, for example, to make a kind of exoskeleton for the elderly. Such a suit would be flexible when needed, but due to speed (for example, when someone falls) the material can become sturdy and offer support.
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