ePrints

The metamaterial paradigm in wearable electronics

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Xinwei LiORCiD

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Abstract

© 2026 The Authors. Metamaterials transcend the limits of traditional materials by achieving unprecedented performance through architectural design. This paradigm has catalyzed the emergence of meta-wearables—wearable electronics whose functions are encoded in structurally engineered matter, enabling compliant mechanics, tailored waves, and thermal transport. In this article, we summarize state-of-the-art meta-wearables and organize these systems into a three-class taxonomy. We then explain why these architectures matter by analyzing the performance gains from unique architectural designs, and elucidating how their physics are made superior by a dual mechanism: interface programming at the biointerface and transport steering of relevant flows. Moving to a system view, we propose the concept of constraint domains to formalize the essential in situ requirements any on-body system must satisfy. As such, we develop a generalized boundary-programmed design framework that translates near-body uncertainties into architectural rules, and which is transferable across materials, scales, and body sites. Finally, we present a design blueprint tailored to different body areas and discuss future prospects and challenges. The framework and insights we provide open a path for engineering future meta-wearables that are capable of adaptive co-evolution with the human body through embedded intelligence.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Li Z, Wang X, Guo Z, Wang Z, Li X, Teng Y, Ramakrishna S

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: eScience

Year: 2026

Volume: 6

Issue: 4

Print publication date: 01/07/2026

Online publication date: 22/01/2026

Acceptance date: 16/01/2026

Date deposited: 12/05/2026

ISSN (print): 2097-2431

ISSN (electronic): 2667-1417

Publisher: KeAi Communications Co.

URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esci.2026.100537

DOI: 10.1016/j.esci.2026.100537

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