  Dynamic shape-morphing soft materials systems are ubiquitous in living
organisms; they are also of rapidly increasing relevance to emerging
technologies in soft machines, flexible electronics, and smart medicines. Soft
matter equipped with responsive components can switch between designed shapes
or structures, but cannot support the types of dynamic morphing capabilities
needed to reproduce natural, continuous processes of interest for many
applications. Challenges lie in the development of schemes to reprogram target
shapes post fabrication, especially when complexities associated with the
operating physics and disturbances from the environment can prohibit the use of
deterministic theoretical models to guide inverse design and control
strategies. Here, we present a mechanical metasurface constructed from a matrix
of filamentary metal traces, driven by reprogrammable, distributed Lorentz
forces that follow from passage of electrical currents in the presence of a
static magnetic field. The resulting system demonstrates complex, dynamic
morphing capabilities with response times within 0.1 s. Implementing an in-situ
stereo-imaging feedback strategy with a digitally controlled actuation scheme
guided by an optimization algorithm, yields surfaces that can self-evolve into
a wide range of 3-dimensional (3D) target shapes with high precision, including
an ability to morph against extrinsic or intrinsic perturbations. These
concepts support a data-driven approach to the design of dynamic, soft matter,
with many unique characteristics.
