Changing colors is not even singularly about camouflage for these lizards. There is growing evidence to suggest that chameleons use it as a way to communicate too. Sometimes, they want to blend into the environment to avoid predators or be inconspicuous to potential prey. Milinkovitch, who was not involved in the new research, called the technology “impressive,” noting that, in some respects, the robo-chameleon could do even more than its wild-born counterparts. Kim, H., Choi, J., Kim, K. K., Won, P., Hong, S., & Ko, S. H. (2021). Biomimetic chameleon soft robot with artificial crypsis and disruptive coloration skin. Nature Communications, 12(1). doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-24916-w The thermal control of the liquid crystal coat has several limitations, says Steven Morin, a chemist at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. First, he says the skin is easier to heat than to cool down, so it may not switch from a hot color like blue to a cold color like red as fast as it would switch from red to blue. Furthermore, the temperature ranges the robot uses are rather narrow, from room temperature of 78 degrees Fahrenheit to approximately human body temperatures of 97 degrees. And Morin says that the skin color may be affected by its surroundings, especially in chilly weather or under direct sunlight on a hot day.

There are currently more than 200 known species of chameleons, most of which are native to Madagascar, a biodiversity hotspot in the Indian Ocean. They come in all sizes, from the chunky Parson’s chameleon ( Calumma parsonii) that can grow to 69 centimeters (27 inches), to the smallest, just shy of 1.4 cm (0.55 in). They all move with a halting grace, their forked feet clutching branches, freewheeling eyeballs surveying their nook. A Parson’s chameleon. Image by Rhett A. Butler.

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Then comes the more complicated matter of reproducing the legible visuals. Chameleons can display various colors by using the muscle cells of the skin. Teyssier, J., Saenko, S. V., Van der Marel, D., & Milinkovitch, M. C. (2015). Photonic crystals cause active colour change in chameleons. Nature Communications, 6(1). doi: 10.1038/ncomms7368 The Robo Chameleon is suitable for age 3-8 years +. It is a “food” guzzling, colour changing, walking robot. It has a really funky design and parts light up with an LED, which change colour at the push of a button. In fact, there are 10 different colours. It is very easy to control with the remote control, and both the eyes and tail move as this cute little character walks. You can use the remote control to move in 4 different directions. We think that if it weren’t for their size, chameleons would get a lot more fame in the animal kingdom. After all, they’re awesome! They’ve got skin that can change colour, eyes that can cover pretty much every angle imaginable, and, of course, elasticated tongues. So, we can completely see why they were the inspiration for the Robo Chameleon!

Like real chameleons, the robo-chameleon collects information from its environment in real time, but the way it reproduces the colors on its artificial “skin” is different. This robotic chameleon toy is controlled by a remote control that lets you move it around and, of course, trigger that tongue! This is excellent for dexterity training, and it’s a whole lot of fun, too! It comes with little magnetic food disks that you can gobble up.

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A robot modeled on a chameleon and developed by South Korean researchers can change colors to match its surroundings.

Today, it’s possible to buy color-changing mugs online that display predetermined patterns, but nothing quite as sophisticated as something that uses new information from the environment to alter itself in real time. The researchers say they hope the system will in future be able to read and mimic patterns as well. It doesn’t sport swivelly eyes or an absurdly long tongue, but a new robot does boast of a chameleon’s most eye-catching trait: being able to change colors on demand. In the future, the researchers aim to build another color changing icon in the animal kingdom with a squirming chassis to match: an octopus. They’ll borrow the design of the artificial chameleon skin to achieve camouflage in their cephalopod. But “it's movement is much more complex than a chameleon,” says Ko, which is where the main engineering challenge lies. If colors and patterns can both be replicated in real time, it could pave the way for clothing that essentially makes the wearer invisible.

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The robo-chameleon records the colors in the environment and projects them onto its “skin.” The skin is like a screen where colors and patterns are produced with thermochromic liquid crystal ink, a substance that responds to differences in temperature. Image courtesy of Hyeonseok Kim et al.