In a paper last year, Published in Nature magazine magazine Octopuses are perhaps the closest thing to an alien species on Earth because of their unusual abundance of protein-encoding genes and the ability of their tissues to modify proteins to change their function.Other traits such as superior intelligence—they have nine independent brains, one in each tentacle—and their astounding abilities for learning and memory put them in a completely different category compared to other invertebrates.
Recently, a group of scientists discovered that real octopus cityNamed “Octlantis”, a flock of 15 octopuses built their homes out of sand and shells. Another attractive property is that he can change the color and texture in tenths of a second. For example, it can imitate a crab to show off its courtship repertoire and attract unfortunate crustaceans. Inspired by this advanced form of mimicry, a group of Cornell University (USA) scientists and engineers developed a new technique with octopus scholar Roger Hanlon. In 2014 they already described the camouflage techniques used by these cephalopods. morphology journal. But now they aim to reproduce them.
The new system announced at scientific journals, which contains a thin silicon membrane that can adopt complex 3D shapes. The pneumatically-actuated material mimics octopus papillae, similar to the human tongue, and is composed of muscle tissue with no underlying bony structure. For example, a squid’s papilla can take six different shapes, from conical to trefoil, and he is retracted in five minutes of her so that the animal can swim freely. “We were fascinated by the success of cephalopods in altering skin texture, and were inspired to study the muscles that allow cephalopods to control skin texture. , we implemented these ideas into a way to control the shape of soft, stretchy materials,” says lead author James Pickle, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania.
“The synthetic skins that Mr. Pickle and his team have developed can be programmed to replicate different shapes like stones and plants.”
Pikul and his team have developed membranes that can be programmed to replicate different shapes, such as rocks and plants. Therefore, this membrane-covered robot can mimic its environment. However, camouflage is not the only feature of this membrane. These texture changes can increase the amount of light absorbed, thus warming the structure.
Cephalopods as recurring sources of inspiration
This membrane is one of the most sophisticated cephalopod-inspired camouflage technologies ever developed, but by no means the only one. In 2014, a team at the University of Illinois led by Professor John Rogers published an original study. Photoelectronic Camouflage Prototype. This system can detect light and change its color depending on the environment. Unfortunately, the first iteration was only able to detect grayscales, and practical applications were much more limited than the technique proposed by Pikul and his team.
sauce: Washington Post, Physics
