Scientists build camouflage tech using liquid crystals that work like octopus cells

Scientists have developed an artificial version of cells in octopuses and squids that enable the marine creatures to match the colours and patterns of their surroundings, and disappear in an instant. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania believe this may lead to novel camouflage applications in robotics, architecture and other fields such as cryptography and optics. Chromatophores are special cells in octopuses and squids that can expand and retract internal reflective plates in response to external stimuli and allow these molluscs to camouflage with the surroundings as well as to communicate signs of aggression or readiness to mate, researchers explained. In their new study, published in the journal Nature Materials, engineers used thin, flexible membranes – made from a polymer network of liquid crystals – to build an artificial chromatophore that can change colours instantly from near-infrared to visible to ultraviolet, on command. The membranes are situated over tiny cavities arranged in a grid, each of which can be inflated to a precise pressure, and as a cavity inflates, the membrane is stretched, shrinking its thickness and shifting its apparent colour, the study noted.