Stephen Morin created a soft-bodied robot called CamoBot that can change its color and pattern in about 30 seconds by pumping different colored liquids through a network of tiny tubes in its silicone back. Though its camouflage is not perfect, it can blend into infrared light unlike animals. Morin hopes to study how predators and prey react to the robot's camouflage abilities. The ultimate goal is to create larger, more autonomous robots that can carry their own power sources and liquids to change color without human support.

1. ROBOT THAT CAN
CAMOUFLAGE ITSELF

2. ROBOTS IN DISGUISE..........
 None of the machines can do what a cuttle fish or
octopus does with its skin that is change its
pattern, colour and texture to perfectly blend into
its surrounding in matter of milliseconds.
 But in 2012, Stephen Morin from harvard
university has been trying to duplicate this natural
quick change ability with a soft bodied, colour
changing robot.
 Though, its camouflage is far from perfect it has a
trick that cuttle fish and octopuses can’t match.i.e
it can camouflage itself in the infrared part of the
spectrum.

3. FEATURES OF CAMO-
BOT>>>>>>>
White and
translucent
machine. Made
up of rubber and
plastic tubing.
Ambles about
on four legs.
Uses motors
and hydraulics
while moving.
Its back is fitted
with a sheet of
silicone containing
a network of tiny
tubes.
By pumping
colours through
these micro-
fluidic channels,
the robot changes
colour in about 30
seconds.

4. 1.In the image, it changes its
colour colour to mimic a pile of
discarded leaves.
2.If its channels fill with bright or
glowing colours, the robot can be
made to stand out rather than
blend-in.

5. USES OF CAMO-BOT>>>>>
 Study of animals that the robot tries to mimic.
 In field experiments, Morin could tweak the
contrast, colour, pattern and temperature of the
robot to see how predators and prey react,
without human scientists on hand.
 By filling the robot with liquids at different
temperatures, Morin could make it invisible to the
heat-sensitive detectors found in infrared
cameras, and on the faces of some snakes and
vampire bats.

6. MORIN’S AMBITION IS STILL A
WHILE AWAY.........
 The robot is still awkward and its disguise is
imperfect.
 Morin has to prepare the coloured liquids
beforehand, and pump them into the robots via
cumbersome tubes.
 The team is now working on larger models that
can carry their own power sources, pumps,
fluids, electronics and operate without human
support.