Unlike conventional antennas, which are fixed in function, this new antenna can be stretched, bent, or compressed to reversibly alter its radiation properties. This allows a device to operate across a broader frequency range without relying on complex mechanical components. With this adaptability, a single reconfigurable antenna could replace multiple dedicated antennas and better respond to changing environments.
While the term “antenna” might bring to mind metal rods—like the classic “bunny ears” on old TVs—the MIT team took a different approach. They built their design using metamaterials: engineered structures whose mechanical properties, such as stiffness and strength, are determined by their internal geometry rather than just the materials themselves.
The result is a simplified and customizable antenna system that could be integrated into technologies such as energy transfer for wearable devices, motion tracking for augmented reality, or wireless communication across diverse protocols.
To make this even more accessible, the team developed a digital design tool that lets users create custom metamaterial antennas, which can then be fabricated using a standard laser cutter.
Usually, when we think of antennas, we think of static antennas — they are fabricated to have specific properties and that is it. However, by using auxetic metamaterials, which can deform into three different geometric states, we can seamlessly change the properties of the antenna by changing its geometry, without fabricating a new structure. In addition, we can use changes in the antenna’s radio frequency properties, due to changes in the metamaterial geometry, as a new method of sensing for interaction design.
Marwa AlAlawi, Study Lead Author and Graduate Student, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Making Sense of Antennas
Traditionally, antennas transmit and receive radio signals. In this case, the researchers explored how antennas could also serve as sensors—specifically, by tracking changes in their own shape.
The team focused on an antenna’s “resonance frequency,” the point at which it most efficiently transmits signals. This frequency shifts as the antenna changes shape—much like adjusting the length of a TV antenna to improve reception. These shifts can be monitored for sensing purposes. For example, a shape-adaptive antenna could detect chest expansion to monitor breathing.
To enable this, the researchers turned to metamaterials: programmable materials made up of repeating geometric units that can be stretched, compressed, rotated, or bent. By deforming the metamaterial, the antenna’s resonance frequency can be tuned accordingly.
In order to trigger changes in resonance frequency, we either need to change the antenna’s effective length or introduce slits and holes into it. Metamaterials allow us to get those different states from only one structure, added AlAlawi.
The device, known as the meta-antenna, consists of a dielectric layer sandwiched between two conductive layers.
To fabricate it, the team laser-cut the dielectric material from a rubber sheet, then applied a conductive spray paint to form a resonating “patch antenna” on top.
However, they discovered that even the most flexible conductive materials couldn’t endure the repeated deformation the antenna undergoes during use.
We did a lot of trial and error to determine that, if we coat the structure with flexible acrylic paint, it protects the hinges so they don’t break prematurely, explained AlAlawi.
A Means for Makers
With the fabrication challenges resolved, the researchers developed a design tool that allows users to create metamaterial antennas tailored to specific applications.
Users can customize parameters such as the antenna patch size, dielectric layer thickness, and the length-to-width ratio of the metamaterial unit cells. The tool then automatically simulates the resulting resonance frequency range, streamlining the design process.
AlAlawi noted, The beauty of metamaterials is that, because it is an interconnected system of linkages, the geometric structure allows us to reduce the complexity of a mechanical system.
Using their design tool, the researchers integrated meta-antennas into several smart devices, including a curtain that automatically adjusts lighting and headphones that switch seamlessly between noise-canceling and transparency modes.
In the headphone prototype, bending and expanding the meta-antenna shifted its resonance frequency by 2.6 percent—enough to trigger a mode change. The team also found that the meta-antenna structure was highly durable, withstanding over 10,000 compressions without failure.
Because the antenna patch can be applied to virtually any surface, the technology lends itself to more complex designs. For example, it could be embedded in smart textiles for noninvasive biomedical sensing or real-time temperature monitoring.
Looking ahead, the researchers aim to develop three-dimensional meta-antennas to support an even broader range of applications. They also plan to expand the capabilities of their design tool, enhance the flexibility and resilience of the metamaterial structure, explore new symmetric pattern designs, and streamline parts of the manual fabrication process.
This work was supported in part by the Bahrain Crown Prince International Scholarship and the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology.
Meta-antenna: Mechanically Frequency Reconfigurable Metamaterial Antennas
Video Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Journal Reference:
Koziel, S., et al. (2025) Versatile unsupervised design of antennas using flexible parameterization and computational intelligence methods. Scientific Reports. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-80319-z.