Programmable Wire Metamaterials for Visible and Self-Adaptive Infrared Camouflage

Adaptive infrared (IR) radiation management that can autonomously adjust IR radiation on demand while maintaining independent visible compatibility has been long pursued for practical applications, such as camouflage. Here, an integrated programmable wire metamaterial is developed that enables programmable autonomy and dual-band compatibility for non-interference visible and self-adaptive IR camouflage. This system allows automatic and intelligent concealment of targets in complex and dynamic thermal environments without human intervention. The self-adaptive IR camouflage is facilitated by the manipulation of the metamaterial's tilt angle for continuous tunability of emissivity, which is attributed to the tilt angle-dependent broadband impedance matching mechanisms. Equipped with programmable feedback algorithm commands, the integrated system dynamically adapts to varying thermal backgrounds, achieving apparent temperature modulation of up to 27 °C (ranging from 14 to 41 °C) while minimizing thermal imaging contrast to within 1 °C. These capabilities ensure that the target remains undetected by both visible and thermal detectors throughout the day. This work opens up new opportunities for the next-generation multispectral camouflage technologies and advances in spatiotemporal and programmable self-adaptive systems.