As it moves across surfaces, watch it change its color.Active CamoResearchers from Korea have found the secret to rudimentary camouflage, or active camouflage technology that blends into its environment in real time.According to Nature Communications research, the color-mimicking technology, which is flexible and durable, can blend soft robots into their surroundings. It's similar to a real-world Chameleon. Researchers published a video showing the bot looking chameleon-like, with cute googly eyes that change color as it moves across monochrome surfaces.This is a major step forward in camouflage research according to Inverse reports. However, the tech is still at preliminary, proof of concept stages.Change of GearsIt is not the first attempt at active camouflage. This experiment is different from other systems, which often try to pack as many colors as possible onto a surface. The researchers call this extremely difficult from a technological perspective in their paper.AdvertisementAdvertisementInstead, the color-changing material, and the little chameleonbot, are made up of many stacked layers, Inverse notes. These use nanotech sensors that detect and display the surrounding colors.Tech TreeCamouflage is being looked at for military purposes already. This shouldn't be surprising considering how long active camouflage was a part of militaristic science fiction media, and a pipedream for real-world military research.According to Seung Hwan Ko, a senior researcher at Seoul National University, the first application will be military.Ko sees a future where color-changing clothing could be purchased that can change its colors and patterns to suit your environment or taste.AdvertisementAdvertisementREAD MORE: MINDBENDING JAMES Bond TECHNOLOGY BOUGHT TO LIFE STUDY (Inverse)Here's more on active camouflage. A super-flexible display could enable real-life active camouflage
