A Korean research team developed a chameleon robot that chances color to blend with its surroundings. As this technology progresses, we may be able to change the color of a building or a car as the consumer wants. It can also be used as a new kind of military camouflage technology.



A joint research team led by Prof. Seung Hwan Ko of Seoul National University Dept. of Mechanical Engineering and Prof. Sukjoon Hong of Hanyang University Dept. of Mechanical Engineering developed a soft robot skin that changes color. The research was published in Nature Communications August 11.



The robot is 38cm long and 15cm wide, weighing 0.9kg. As it walks, it is able to change the color of its plastic body from orange to green to blue, matching the surroundings.





◇Changing color via controlling temperature of nanowires



The chameleon shrinks or expands the pigment cells with their muscles to change color. A robot cannot do that. Instead, the research team created a liquid crystal layer that changes color according to temperature change under the skin of the robot. Below that, they inserted silver nanowires. When the sensor senses the color of the robot’s surroundings, silver nanowires are heated up, which then causes the robot’s color to change.



This technology can be used in creating bendable displays that change color to match its environment. In the same way, the color of a car or a building may be able to transform as the user demands.

Moreover, it can develop into a new type of military camouflage technology. The team commented: “The ultimate goal would be an invisible cloak that completely blends into the background. We could camouflage intelligent surveillance robots so that they are undetectable to the enemy.”



Currently, camouflage military clothing is fixed in its colors and patterns, unable to adapt as the environment changes. But the chameleon robot technology can help us achieve a proactive kind of camouflage that seamlessly merges with the environment.