Multi-stable knitted fabrics point to smart textile switches

Harvard - Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed machine‑knitted textiles that can snap between multiple stable three‑dimensional shapes and operate as soft switches and sensors, bringing mechanical metamaterial concepts directly into industrial knitting.

The work, led by Kausalya Mahadevan in the lab of Professor Katia Bertoldi, demonstrates how everyday knitting processes can be used to create multistable fabrics for functional, programmable textile devices.