UC Irvine

Inspired by the blue-ringed octopus, researchers have created a technology that rapidly changes color and appearance under various kinds of light, enabling camouflaging and signaling. The tech could be used in the military, medicine, and robotics.

The color-changing skin of the squid has inspired a new type of infrared-reflecting, metalized polymer film with tunable heat-management properties that could make it useful in everything from coffee cups to shipping containers.

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) have developed a novel, high-tech form of fabric that foreshadows a future where items of clothing can"talk" to one another, and purchases might be made with a high-five or wave of the arm.

Researchers have created a new ultra-tough structure whose strength had only been theorized previously. The nanoscale carbon lattice made using 3D printing technology boasts a much greater strength-to-density ratio than diamonds.

​Squids, octopi and cuttlefish are able to change the color of their skin thanks to specialized cells known as chromatophores. Scientists have now replicated the manner in which those cells work, resulting in a flexible material that can either trap or release heat as needed.

By designing nanowires with a special protective coating, researchers have created an electrode that withstands hundreds of thousands of cycles, serving as a proof of concept for longer-lasting batteries to power everything from smartphones to spacecraft.

Researchers from the University of California at Irvine are developed a stick-on covering that could let soldiers hide from infrared light. It utilizes the same protein that's found in squids' color-changing skin.