the simplest and most commonly used acoustic levitator is comprised of a transmitter and an opposing reflecting surface. This type of device, however, is only able to levitate objects along one direction, at distances multiple of half of a wavelength. In this work, we show how a customised reflective acoustic metamaterial enables the levitation of multiple particles, not necessarily on a line and with arbitrary mutual distances, starting with a generic input wave. We establish a heuristic optimisation technique for the design of the metamaterial, where the local height of the surface is used to introduce delay patterns to the reflected signals. Our method stands for any type and number of sources, spatial resolution of the metamaterial and system's variables (i.e. source position, phase and amplitude, metamaterial's geometry, relative position of the levitation points, etc.). Finally, we explore how the strength of multiple levitation points changes with their relative distance, demonstrating sub-wavelength field control over levitating polystyrene beads into various configurations. Since the first levitation of an object with sound, almost a century ago, the physics behind levitation and manipulation of objects with acoustic waves has been thoroughly studied 1-3. With the exception of a limited number of studies involving chemical analysis 4,5 , acoustic levitation has been mainly used to observe the dynamics of levitated objects 6-8 , including small animals 9. More recently, acoustic levitation in air has been used to display technical information 10,11 , to convey graphical messages 11,12 or to elicit novel interactions 13,14 and multi-sensory experiences 15. The standard acoustic levitator involves the creation of a standing wave 16-19 , either by two opposing ultrasonic transducers or a source and a reflector. In air, particles in a levitator would aggregate at the nodes of the field (i.e. the low-pressure points), which are typically arranged in a line between the elements, at distances of half of the wavelength of the emitted signal. The ability to freely position objects in mid-air seems therefore limited to multiples of half of a wavelength (λ/2) in the vertical direction 19-21. Conversely, acoustic self-aggregation of particles into structures with mutual distances much smaller than λ/2 has been observed experimentally in horizontal standing waves, both in air 22-24 and in water 25,26. This phenomenon, due to particle-particle interactions 26,27 , requires however particles much smaller than the wavelength (λ ∼ /100): overcoming this limit in acoustic levitators-which tend to use larger particles-requires a finer control on the acoustic field. More control on the field (e.g. focusing the acoustic energy in specific locations) can be achieved using Phased Arrays of ultrasonic Transducers (PATs) 10,12,28-31. In these setups, the position of the levitated object can be modified by adjusting either the transducers' phases 21,31 or amplitudes 32-34. Multi-object levitation in predefined positions can thus b...