Squishy robot changes color for camouflage purposes

What are some of the cooler looking robots that you have seen in the past? It seems that researchers at Harvard University have managed to develop a particular robot which was inspired by the chameleon, as it, it is capable of changing its color successfully in order to camouflage itself. This particular research team is led by Harvard professor George Whitesides, where his squishy robot that you see above changes its color as it pleases. This particular research is focused on soft-bodied organisms such as the squid and octopus. Yet another example of how nature has inspired science to explore new territory.

Whitesides claims that the main goal of his research was to understand why there is a myriad of organisms which come with the shape and color that they do, not to mention there are particular reasons in their physical make up that allow some of these creatures to alter their characteristics while others are unable to do so. This color changing soft robot was made possible through the development of color layers which starts life off as a mold made by 3D printers, where it is subsequently turned into a micro-channel when silicon is thrown into the mix. When the channels were set up, the researchers were then able to pour colored liquids into them, paving the way for such a robot to mimic animal behavior – and subsequently, camouflage itself.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Robots
Tags: Robot