When moving across surfaces of different colors, the robot automatically changes its skin color like a real chameleon.
A group of South Korean researchers has successfully created an outer camouflage layer that can automatically transform and blend into the surrounding environment in real-time.
They released a video showing a robot resembling a chameleon. It features all the main components, including eyes. As it moves, the robot automatically shifts from red to blue and green, corresponding to the underlying paint color of the surface.
The robot changes color as it moves through areas with different background colors. (Photo: NPG Press).
The research results were published in the journal Nature Communications on August 10. According to the authors’ description, this color-mimicking technology is flexible and sensitive enough to help a soft robot blend into its surroundings, just like a real chameleon.
Inverse has noted that this is a significant advancement in camouflage technology research, although it is still in its early stages, demonstrating the concept.
There have been many efforts to develop active camouflage capabilities. However, the team of scientists from South Korea has taken a new approach. The surface material consists of multiple layers of screens stacked on top of each other, rather than just a single layer trying to cram in as many pixels as possible as done previously.
Next, the authors used nano-technology sensors to detect the surrounding colors in real-time and control the surface to change accordingly.
This new camouflage technology is being considered for military applications, a field that places special emphasis on this capability.
“The first applications will be for military purposes, such as smart secret robots or camouflage uniforms,” said Professor Seung Hwan Ko from Seoul National University, a co-author of the study.
In the long run, this initiative could be widely applied in human life. Professor Ko believes there will come a time when we can buy clothing that “changes color and style according to our preferences or living environment.”
