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Mechanical Engineering
SMASH Lab
Smart Materials and Shock Lab

METS: Multi-Stiffness Expandable Tensegrity Structure

METS is a lightweight, under-clothing sleeve that stiffens like a cast or loosens like a sleeve—all with a single pull of a cable, no motors, no batteries—revolutionizing how we support injured arms, boost athletic performance, and enable adaptive rehab.

BABATA
The Multi-Stiffness Expandable Tensegrity Structure (METS) is a passive, wearable tensegrity system that dynamically modulates axial and radial stiffness using a continuous control cable (CCC). Validated through 2D benchtop and 3D arm model testing (BABATA), METS achieves a 79% increase in axial stiffness and 55% in radial stiffness by tensioning the cable, enabling real-time biomechanical support without power or bulk. Its expandable, ~10 mm thin design conforms to swelling limbs, allows early intervention post-injury, and outperforms fixed-stiffness sleeves and casts in flexibility and adaptability. With applications in rehabilitation, orthotics, sports science, military gear, and assistive robotics, METS lays the foundation for next-generation, user-tunable wearables—paving the way for sensor-integrated, multi-cable, and large-scale tensegrity systems that predict and enhance human motion.