Squid skin display mimic has promise for camouflage and alert systems

Squid are the psychedelic champions of the animal kingdom, rippling ever-changing patterns of colour across their skin to communicate with each other, dazzle their prey and camouflage themselves against predators. They do this using dedicated pigment-containing cells in their skin called chromophores, which they can expands and constrict at will, changing both the colour and texture of their skin. Researchers at Bristol University’s department of engineering mathematics have now designed synthetic chromophores which, they say, prove that it is possible to create an artificial skin that could blend in with backgrounds or flash display signals to attract search-and-rescue operations.

The skin the team has developed is made from a soft electroactive dielectric elastomer, coated with black carbon grease. Applying a current makes this elastomer expand and contract. Arranging these artificial chromatophores in a linear array, the team devised mathematical algorithms to control how the cells react to changes in state of neighbouring cells, to see if this could mimic any of the patterning seen in squid.