DARPA creates shape-shifting robot with color-changing abilities

I stumbled upon this article whist enjoying the first morning cup of coffee, and thought I would share with the members.

The camo aspect is pretty interesting but the article states it could also be used in a "search & rescue" scenario by using bright easy to identify colors which seems a viable application.

www.petridishnews.com

The octopus robot has been invented, according to scientists.

Scientists in the United States on Thursday said they had devised a soft-bodied robot, inspired by the squid and octopus, which can crawl, camouflage itself and hide from infrared cameras. The robot, developed in conjunction with the Department of Defense, is a soft-bodied robot that can camouflage itself when required.

I am interested to hear from the minds of ATS, what possible uses are there for technology..


I did a quick search and didn't see this posted, if this is a dupe leave a link here so I can redirect

Very cool article, the future of technology is becoming more and more strange everyday.


There are the obvious military uses.


I could also see the camo aspect being used by avid hunters to conceal their location from game. They do love to have a ridiculous upper hand over the animals they go after, they could almost walk right up to an animal before taking a shot.

If I had this when I was in a band during my high school years I would have made a suit out of it, that way I wouldn't look like a psychopath screaming at a drum kit...

Thanks for the link,

Imagine if they combined this with the DARPA BIGDOG Robot. Imagine that running after you!!

reply to post by JacKatMtn


I wonder if the Squidbots are going to team up with the Autobots in the next movie, or if they'll take the place of the Decpticons as a new kind of unexpected enemy?

Kidding aside, this is very cool.
How big is that thing?
It'd be interesting to see a suit made out of lots of interlocking 'cells' of this shape changing color adaptive camouflaging squidbot.

Soldier uniforms could double as disposable drones where a bit of uniform is ripped off, pasted to a wall, slid under a doorway, or dropped around perimeter as sentries, infiltration, intel gathering, or whatever a camouflaging drone might could be useful for.

Military Aircraft/Drones.

*you know they already thought that up


Practical use- Oceantic Life Research.

Wonder what the price tag on it was.

Here's a couple more links to articles on this tech..

Camouflage bendy robot changes colour for disguise

A robot that can change colour to either blend in with or stand out from its surroundings has been created by scientists.

The machine, designed by researchers at Harvard University, was inspired by the camouflage skills of sea creatures such as octopuses, cuttlefish and squid.

Like these cephalopods, the robot has a soft, rubbery body and can move with flexibility.

Camouflage and Display for Soft Machines

Synthetic systems cannot easily mimic the color-changing abilities of animals such as cephalopods. Soft machines—machines fabricated from soft polymers and flexible reinforcing sheets—are rapidly increasing in functionality. This manuscript describes simple microfluidic networks that can change the color, contrast, pattern, apparent shape, luminescence, and surface temperature of soft machines for camouflage and display.