Origami metamaterial biomimetic bouquets expand floriography to spatiotemporal 4D

Mechanical metamaterials have demonstrated their potential as programmable structural materials with tailorable deformative responses. The existing mechanical metamaterials have exhibited their potential to mimic certain flowers; however, it is of interest to expand the mimicry from morphological imitation in the spatial dimension (i.e., unchangeable over time) to multifunctional biomimicry in the spatiotemporal dimension. Here, we report the origami metamaterial biomimetic bouquets that combine biomimicry with information processing over time for floriography in the spatiotemporal 4D. The origami metamaterial bouquets not only mimic the key characteristics of the lily's growing process (i.e., bud and bloom) but, more innovatively, also expand traditional floriography from the time-independent information expression (i.e., species, color, and quantity) in the spatial dimension to the fourth information dimension of changeable status through binary digital abstraction. This research opens a horizon for bio-inspired intelligent devices and information systems through rationally designing and assembling the new-generation origami mechanical metamaterials.