A paper published in Nature last year magazine With an unusual amount of protein-coding genes and the ability of their tissues to modify proteins to alter their function, octopuses are perhaps the closest thing we have to an alien life form on Earth. other distinguishing characteristics such as intelligence—has a total of nine independent brains, one for each tentacle, and their astounding abilities for learning and memory put them in a very different category than other invertebrates.
Recently, a group of scientists discovered what looked like a real octopus city, dubbed ‘Octlantis’, where a group of 15 octopuses used sand and shells to build their homes. bottom. Another fascinating property is the way he changes colors and textures in tenths of a second. For example, they can imitate a crab that exhibits his courtship repertoire to attract unfortunate crustaceans. developed a new technique with octopus scholar Roger Hanlon. Back in 2014, the Journal of Morphology already described the camouflage techniques employed by these cephalopods. But now they aim to replicate them.
A new system, published in Science, includes a thin silicon membrane that can adopt complex 3D shapes. Pneumatically actuated material simulates octopus papillae. Octopus papillae resemble “balloons” and are composed of muscle tissue without underlying bony structure, similar to the human tongue. Squid papillae, for example, can take half a dozen shapes, from conical to trefoil, and contract in a fifth of a second, allowing the animal to swim freely. “We were intrigued by the success of cephalopods in altering skin texture, so we found inspiration by studying the muscles that allow cephalopods to control skin texture. We have implemented these ideas in a way to control the shape of soft, stretchy materials,” said lead author James Pikul, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania. I’m here.
“The synthetic skin that Pickle and his team have developed can be programmed to recreate a variety of shapes, including rocks and plants.”
Developed by Pickle and his team, the membrane can be programmed to recreate a variety of shapes, including rocks and plants. Therefore, this membrane-covered robot can mimic its environment. However, camouflage is not the only function of this membrane. Because these texture changes can increase the amount of light absorbed and warm the structure.
Cephalopods, a recurring source of inspiration
This membrane is one of the most sophisticated cephalopod-inspired camouflage techniques ever developed, but by no means the only one. In 2014, a team at the University of Illinois led by Professor John Rogers unveiled a unique optoelectronic camouflage prototype. The system can detect light and change its own color according to the environment. Unfortunately, the first iteration was only able to detect grayscales, and its practical application was much more limited than the technique proposed by Pickle and his team.
sauce: Washington Post, Phys
