Robohub.org
 

Chameleon robot changes color depending on surroundings


by
17 August 2012



share this:

A robot that can change colour to either blend in with or stand out from its surroundings has been created by researchers at Harvard University. It was inspired by the camouflage skills found in many sea creatures including octopuses, cuttlefish, and squid.

In a study published in the journal Science the researchers show how simple microfluidic networks allow to change the color, contrast, pattern, apparent shape, luminescence, and surface temperature of soft robots made from polymers and flexible reinforcing sheets. For now, the colored solutions injected into the microfluidic networks were all prepared manually. The color of these networks can be changed simultaneously in the visible and infrared — a capability that biological organisms do not have. These strategies begin to imitate the functions, although not the anatomies, of color-changing animals.

Some photos:

The robot on man-made background. See if you can spot all five robots in panel F.

The robot on natural background:

The micro-fluidic networks developed by the researchers:




Markus Waibel is a Co-Founder and COO of Verity Studios AG, Co-Founder of Robohub and the ROBOTS Podcast.
Markus Waibel is a Co-Founder and COO of Verity Studios AG, Co-Founder of Robohub and the ROBOTS Podcast.





Related posts :



#ICML2025 outstanding position paper: Interview with Jaeho Kim on addressing the problems with conference reviewing

  15 Sep 2025
Jaeho argues that the AI conference peer review crisis demands author feedback and reviewer rewards.

Apertus: a fully open, transparent, multilingual language model

  11 Sep 2025
EPFL, ETH Zurich and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS) released Apertus today, Switzerland’s first large-scale, open, multilingual language model.

Robots to the rescue: miniature robots offer new hope for search and rescue operations

  09 Sep 2025
Small two-wheeled robots, equipped with high-tech sensors, will help to find survivors faster in the aftermath of disasters.

#IJCAI2025 distinguished paper: Combining MORL with restraining bolts to learn normative behaviour

and   04 Sep 2025
The authors introduce a framework for guiding reinforcement learning agents to comply with social, legal, and ethical norms.

Researchers are teaching robots to walk on Mars from the sand of New Mexico

  02 Sep 2025
Researchers are closer to equipping a dog-like robot to conduct science on the surface of Mars

Engineering fantasy into reality

  26 Aug 2025
PhD student Erik Ballesteros is building “Doc Ock” arms for future astronauts.

RoboCup@Work League: Interview with Christoph Steup

and   22 Aug 2025
Find out more about the RoboCup League focussed on industrial production systems.

Interview with Haimin Hu: Game-theoretic integration of safety, interaction and learning for human-centered autonomy

and   21 Aug 2025
Hear from Haimin in the latest in our series featuring the 2025 AAAI / ACM SIGAI Doctoral Consortium participants.



 

Robohub is supported by:




Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?


scicomm
training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI


 












©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence