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Smart camouflage
A team of engineers from Rutgers University created a 3D printed stretch material that can change colors on demand – an exotic material that could lead to a whole new kind of military camouflage.
As detailed in a new study published in the journal Applied materials and ACS interfaces This month, the smart gels were inspired by the changing skin of cuttlefish, octopus and squid.
“Electronic displays are everywhere and despite remarkable advancements like getting thinner, bigger and brighter, they are based on rigid materials, limiting the shapes they can take and their interface with 3D surfaces,” Howon explains. Lee, an assistant professor at Rutgers, said in a statement.
“Our research supports a new engineering approach with camouflage that can be added to soft materials and create flexible and colorful screens,” he added.
Stretch pants
Although they contain a lot of water, hydrogels can hold their shape and maintain a solid state. They are abundant in nature and can even be found inside the human body.
To create the camouflage material, engineers incorporated a light sensing nanomaterial inside the shape-shifting gel, turning it into a flexible skin resembling camouflage. As a result, the gel could act as an “artificial muscle” capable of responding to changes in light by contracting.
The team is now looking to increase the sensitivity of their smart gel and increase its production.
READ MORE: 3D printed smart gel changes shape when exposed to light [Rutgers]
More on camouflage: Researchers invent material that could create an invisibility cloak
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