Our leaves would be constructed using 4-D printing. We would create a 4-D digital design to build leaves layer by layer. Then using our special LCE material and this advanced technology, we would plan and program our leaves to change to the 4-D shape that would start the process of motion through sound energy.

A leaf has pores called the stomata. These pores with their guard cells control the opening and closing of the stomata during their gas exchange.  RMF mimics this action using liquid crystal elastomers (LCE). The LCEs are porous which means they can absorb sound. When a sound wave is detected, a sensor will measure the amplitude (intensity) and the frequency (pitch, the number of waves something produces in one second). Electric fields trigger LCEs. The leaves will have shape changing properties in which the materials motion would be a predictable and a textured geometric shape that is programmable. The LCEs would open, increasing the area of the leaf to collect sound waves. These pores act as thousands of tiny sound traps, capturing the waves by using vibration energy harvesting flexible electrodes.