Skip to content
Nanoshape

Shape Compiler

From intent to geometry.

The Shape Compiler is the control layer. It is how a shape you want becomes thousands of cell states, and how those states become a form you can check.

Control layer

Six stages between a request and a held shape.

  1. 01

    Intent

    What the surface has to do: support this part, take this curve, stow this way.

  2. 02

    Geometry model

    The target shape, expressed as a surface.

  3. 03

    Compiler

    Maps the target onto the cell grid, cell by cell.

  4. 04

    State map

    One commanded state for every ShapeCell.

  5. 05

    Proteus

    The dock drives and latches the cells.

  6. 06

    Verified form

    The physical result, checked against the target.

ArchitectureDescribes the design. Not a measured Nanoshape result. Source: Nanoshape design specification, September 2026.

Operating principle

Encode. Select. Actuate. Latch. Aggregate. Verify.

  1. 01

    Encode

    The compiler turns a target geometry into a map of cell states and a switching sequence, scheduled in passes. Cells are coupled through the sheet. Switching one shifts its neighbours’ switching thresholds, so the order of passes matters.

  2. 02

    Select

    The compiler selects a set of cells.

  3. 03

    Actuate

    An external magnetic field switches the selected cells.

  4. 04

    Latch

    Switched cells settle into their other stable geometry and hold it mechanically.

  5. 05

    Aggregate

    Local states add up to strain, curvature and folds across the connected sheet.

  6. 06

    Verify

    The formed shape is measured and compared with the target.

ArchitectureDescribes the design. Not a measured Nanoshape result. Source: Nanoshape architecture specification, August 2026.

Interactive

Dock it. Choose a shape. Watch it compile.

What you are looking at

  • This is a visualisation of the operating principle, not a recording of hardware.
  • The programs on this page were compiled ahead of time with a simplified forward model and a bounded local search.
  • Pass order on this page is chosen so every intermediate shape is physically valid. Neighbour-threshold coupling is not modelled.
  • Residual maps are simulated. They are not measured results.
  • Cell internals are not drawn; the cell geometry is still a design variable.
  • Calibrated state-to-shape mapping is in scope. Inverse design at large cell counts is open.
VisualisationShows the operating principle. Not a recording of hardware. Source: Nanoshape architecture specification, August 2026.
  1. Connect
  2. Choose
  3. Compile
  4. Verify
  1. Encode
  2. Select
  3. Actuate
  4. Latch
  5. Aggregate
  6. Verify

Not docked

The saddle

Double curvature needs the sheet’s in-plane lengths to change, not only to bend. That’s why in-plane strain is part of the cell design, and why double-curvature forms are a research target rather than an R1 commitment.

Open problemNot solved. Part of what the program is built to answer. Source: Nanoshape architecture specification, August 2026.

Today and next

What runs today, and what is roadmap.

Status of each part of the Shape Compiler
CapabilityStatusNotes
Target geometries to state mapsRuns today, in this visualisationEach target is encoded into a map of cell states, compiled ahead of time with a simplified forward model.
Pass schedulingRuns today, in this visualisationThe switching sequence is grouped into passes, and every frame of the path is checked, not only the end.
Calibrated state-to-shape mappingIn scope, current programMeasuring how commanded states become physical shape on real cells.
Verification against targetIn scope, current programChecking formed geometry against the geometry model.
CAD to state mapRoadmapArbitrary part geometry in, state map out.
Inverse design at large cell countsOpen problemFinding the best state map for a target shape when there are very many cells.
Open problemInverse design at large cell counts remains open, and is one of the things the program is built to answer. Source: Nanoshape design specification, September 2026.

Questions

Short answers.

What does the Shape Compiler do?

The Shape Compiler is the control layer for Proteus. It is designed to take intent to a geometry model, then to a state map with one commanded state for every ShapeCell, then to Proteus on the Shape Dock, then to a verified physical form, and to schedule the switching in passes, because cells are coupled through the sheet and the order of passes matters.

What shapes can Proteus form in R1?

In R1, Proteus targets single-curvature forms: cylinders, wedges and folds. That is a design target, not a measured result. Double curvature, such as a saddle, needs the sheet’s in-plane lengths to change, not only to bend, so double-curvature forms are a research target rather than an R1 commitment. R1, programmable surfaces, is the funded scope.

Design targetWhat the design is built to do. Not yet measured on Nanoshape hardware. Source: Nanoshape engineering, October 2026.

What is still an open problem?

Inverse design at large cell counts is an open problem for the Shape Compiler: finding a state map that produces a target shape when there are very many cells. It remains open, and it is one of the things the program is built to answer. Double-curvature forms are a research target, and R2 and R3 are research tiers outside the funded scope.

Open problemNot solved. Part of what the program is built to answer. Source: Nanoshape design specification, September 2026.

Meet with us.

If you have a geometry you need held, bring it. We will tell you what the compiler can do with it today.

Meet with usnick@nanoshape.ai