MY COMMENTARY: Ask yourself one question....why do they need a robotic chameleon?
Just like some living chameleons this robotic reptile is able to change its colour to match its surroundings. But the robot's skin changes using artificial intelligence.
The robot, which uses plasmonic displays to blend into the background, was created by engineers at the Wuhan University in China. Researchers hope the colour-changing robot could aid the development of camouflage.
The robot is a 3D printed model covered in displays that produce colours by using interactions between nanoscale structures and electric fields.
"The key to this biomimetic technology is realising electrically driven actuation of broad reflection bands, which may be partially enabled by some of the existing 'e-paper' or 'e-chem' display approaches, including electrophoretic, cholesteric liquid crystalline, and electrowetting," the researchers wrote. Light sensors recognise the background colour, which is then translated to the correct reaction.
The chameleon isn't going to allow for invisibility cloaks to become a reality yet, as it only works against red, green and blue backgrounds.
"Although the current mechanical chameleon can perform against backgrounds that have only three primary colours, our technology can also interface with a complex environment and provide a new approach for artificial active camouflage," the researchers explained.
A more technically advanced detection system would allow for "entire colour patterns" to be used and eventually "fully merging the mechanical chameleon with the surroundings".
( Source )