Magnetically levitated metasurface enabling tangible and bidirectional human-machine interaction

Mechanical metasurfaces are deformable surfaces that reconfigure their shape in response to external stimuli, with growing applications in interactive displays and human-machine interfaces. However, many existing systems are either too fragile for physical interaction or too slow to match human response. Moreover, their incompatibility for integrating functional systems constrains seamless interaction with humans. We developed a robust, rapidly responsive, and multifunctional soft metasurface capable of intuitive interaction with humans. The soft surface reconfigures through magnetic actuation, enabling mechanical metasurface functions with simultaneous visual and tactile feedback for human interaction. The system features a six-by-six array of elastomeric pixels, each actuated by attractive or repulsive magnetic forces from an underlying electromagnet array. The induced magnetic force modulates the surface height up to 8.5 millimeters (-5 to 3.5 millimeters), enabling coordinated actuation of 36 electromagnets to reconstruct over 10³⁰ discrete surface morphologies. Its mechanics compliant design allows human interaction such as pushing, pulling, and pinching. Embedded inertial measurement unit sensors reconstruct surface shape in real time, and an integrated light-emitting diode array provides immediate visual feedback. This platform enables fast, reversible, and intuitive interaction between users and programmable surfaces, laying the groundwork for next-generation human-machine interaction systems.