FLICKR, NOAAInspired by octopuses, researchers have created sheets of sensors with a temperature-sensitive dye to mimic cephalopod camouflage. The sensor-laden sheets, described this week (August 18) in PNAS, used the animals’ biology of blending into backgrounds to automatically sense and adapt to their environments without any external user input.
Cephalopod skins use a three-layered system for quick camouflage: A top layer of pigmented chromatophores change color in response to signals from underlying muscles and nerves, a middle layer of light-reflecting cells can be turned on and off within seconds, and a bottom layer of white cells, which provide a bright backdrop to control the contrast of patterns. Octopus skin also contains photosensitive cells that detect light and patterns without relying on feedback from the eyes or brain.
To imitate this architecture, John Rogers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his colleagues devised an array of small, multi-layered grids that included a temperature-sensitive dye to mimic the chromatophores; diodes to recreate the muscle signals; a thin layer of bright, white silver; and light ...
