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Soft bionic robots have garnered significant attention recently due to their exceptional adaptability to various environments, making them ideal for hazardous missions, particularly in the military. Developing robots with active camouflage is vital for their operational success. Dynamic structural colors, known for their durability, high tunability, and broad color range, are widely employed in camouflage. However, integrating these colors with the complex surfaces of soft robots has been challenging. Inspired by chameleons and octopuses, we have developed camouflaged bionic robots by combining a tunable lossy cavity with an actuating film made of MXene/paraffin. The tunable lossy cavity consists of a tungsten-doped vanadium dioxide (W-VO2) film paired with another oxide or fluoride layer. In response to external stimuli such as direct heating, laser irradiation, and even sunlight, the optical properties of W-VO2 greatly changed, allowing the robot to change colors and blend into visible and infrared bands. By using all-inorganic materials for the color-changing skin, our robots boast a lifetime of over 20,000 cycles. They are capable of significant shape changes, quick responsiveness, and low power consumption. This seamless integration of camouflage with actuation techniques positions our bionic robots as promising candidates for military reconnaissance, environmental monitoring, and more.
Hao et al. (Thu,) studied this question.