Nature-inspired camouflage changes its looks with light
Thin, flexible material steals the color-shifting capabilities of cephalopod skin
MATERIAL IN MOTION By mimicking the structure of cephalopod skin, materials scientists create an ultra-thin, flexible material that can copy light patterns in the environment.
J. Rogers/Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Google+Scientists have swiped the secrets of certain sea creatures’ cloaking skills to create their own camouflaging material.
Some cephalopods, such as cuttlefish, can mimic colors and patterns in their environment using three-layered skin. Each layer, researchers previously found, has its own role: light-detecting cells at the skin’s lower surface trigger muscle cells in the middle to adjust pigment cells at the top.
Now researchers led by materials scientist John Rogers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have copied that format using silicon and a polymer. A bottom layer of photodetectors sense light and send wee electrical currents to actuators in the middle. These tiny devices convert the electrical signal to heat, which prompts a chemical in the top layer to change color. The researchers say the thin flexible material could be useful in everything from military camouflage to wallpaper.
The results appear August 18 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Using cephalopod skin as a blueprint, materials scientists created a thin, flexible material that can respond to changes in light. Here, the material replicates light patterns shone on it by a flashlight. Video courtesy of Fedor Kleber/YouTube; Cunjiang Yu et al/PNAS 2014 |
C. Yu et al. Adaptive optoelectronic camouflage systems with designs inspired by cephalopod skins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Published online August 18, 2014. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1410494111.
L. M. Mathger, R. T. Hanlon. Malleable skin coloration in cephalopods: selective reflectance, transmission and absorbance of light by chromatophores and iridophores. Cell and Tissue Research. Vol. 329, July 2007, p. 179. doi: 10.1007/s00441-007-0384-8.
S. Milius. The colorful lives of squid. Science News. Vol. 184, November 2, 2013, p. 4.
