Squid-inspired tech could lead to color-changing smart materials

If youve ever watched a cephalopod such as a squid changing color, then youll know that its a pretty amazing process they can instantly change the appearance of their skin from dark to light and back again, or even create pulsating bands of color that travel across it. They are able to do this thanks to muscles that manipulate the pigmentation of their skin. Now, scientists from the University of Bristol have succeeded in creating artificial muscles and cells, that might someday allow for the same sort of color changes in smart clothing that can camouflage itself against different backgrounds. The color-changing muscles of squids along with various fish, reptiles and amphibians work in unison with specialized cells known as chromatophores. In squids, each of these cells contains a sac, filled with granules of pigment. When the muscles surrounding a chromatophore contract, that colored sac expands, causing it to appear larger to an observer. Zebrafish, another color-changing animal, take a slightly different approach. Their chromatophores contain a reservoir of liquid pigmentation. When activated, that liquid is pumped through to the skin, where it spreads out like ink. The U Bristol researchers used dielectric elastomers soft, stretchy electricallyactivated polymers to create man-made equivalents of both of these systems.

When an electrical current is applied to them, the elastomers themselves expand, creating the same illusion as a squids expanding pigment sac. As soon as the current is shut off, they return to their regular state.

The squid-like expanding elastomers To replicate the zebrafishs process, an artificial cell was created by sandwiching a silicone bladder between two glass microscope slides. Dielectric elastomers were used to create two pumps, one located on either side of the bladder, and connected to it with silicone tubes. One of those pumps is able to send opaque white spirit into the bladder, while the other can pump in a mixture of black ink and water. By alternately activating the two muscle-pumps with an electrical current, the white and black pigmentations can displace one another within the bladder, causing it to appear all-white, all-black, or somewhere in between.

The zebrafish-inspired artificial chromatophore Our artificial chromatophores are both scalable and adaptable and can be made into an artificial compliant skin which can stretch and deform, yet still operate effectively, said project leader Jonathan Rossiter. This means they can be used in many environments where conventional 'hard' technologies would be dangerous, for example at the physical interface with humans, such as smart clothing. A paper on the research was published today in the journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics. The two types of artificial chromatophores can be seen in action in the video below. Source: University of Bristol

zebrafish

Genetically modified zebrafish

Squid and zebrafish cells inspire camouflaging smart materials

Press release issued 2 May 2012

Researchers from the University of Bristol have created artificial muscles that can be transformed at the flick of a switch to mimic the remarkable camouflaging abilities of organisms such as squid and zebrafish. They demonstrate two individual transforming mechanisms that they believe could be used in smart clothing to trigger camouflaging tricks similar to those seen in nature. The study, by Dr Jonathan Rossiter, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Engineering Mathematics and Dr Andrew Conn, Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is published today [2 May] in IOP Publishings journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics, and is accompanied by a video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2CgtJU3ckY) showing the camouflaging in action. We have taken inspiration from nature's designs and exploited the same methods to turn our artificial muscles into striking visual effects, said lead author of the study Dr Jonathan Rossiter. The soft, stretchy, artificial muscles are based on specialist cells called chromatophores that are found in amphibians, fish, reptiles and cephalopods, and contain pigments of colours that are responsible for the animals remarkable colour-changing effects. The colour changes in these organisms can be triggered by changes in mood, temperature, stress or something visible in the environment, and can be used for camouflage, communication or attracting a mate. Two types of artificial chromatophores were created in the study: the first based on a mechanism adopted by a squid and the second based on a rather different mechanism adopted by zebrafish. A typical colour-changing cell in a squid has a central sac containing granules of pigment. The sac is surrounded by a series of muscles and when the cell is ready to change colour, the brain sends a signal to the muscles and they contract. The contracting muscles make the central sacs expand, generating the optical effect which makes the squid look like it is changing colour.

The fast expansion of these muscles was mimicked using dielectric elastomers (DEs) smart materials, usually made of a polymer, which are connected to an electric circuit and expand when a voltage is applied. They return to their original shape when they are short circuited. In contrast, the cells in the zebrafish contain a small reservoir of black pigmented fluid that, when activated, travels to the skin surface and spreads out, much like the spilling of black ink. The natural dark spots on the surface of the zebrafish therefore appear to get bigger and the desired optical effect is achieved. The changes are usually driven by hormones. The zebrafish cells were mimicked using two glass microscope slides sandwiching a silicone layer. Two pumps, made from flexible DEs, were positioned on both sides of the slide and were connected to the central system with silicone tubes; one pumping opaque white spirit, the other a mixture of black ink and water. Our artificial chromatophores are both scalable and adaptable and can be made into an artificial compliant skin which can stretch and deform, yet still operate effectively. This means they can be used in many environments where conventional 'hard' technologies would be dangerous, for example at the physical interface with humans, such as smart clothing, continued Rossiter. Paper: Biomimetic chromatophores for camouflage and soft active surfaces, Jonathan Rossiter, Bryan Yapand Andrew Conn, Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, published online 2 May 2012.
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About Bioinspiration & Biomimetics Bioinspiration & Biomimetics publishes research which applies principles abstracted from natural systems to engineering and technological design and applications.