Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) said on the 16th that a research team led by Kim Dae-yun, a Ph.D. at the Functional Composite Materials Research Center, developed a soft robot "Octoid" (OCTOID) that freely changes color and shape, inspired by an octopus's camouflage and movements. "Soft robot" (Soft Robot) technology, which mimics biological abilities, has been rapidly evolving with advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and cutting-edge materials science and is drawing attention as a core field of the future robotics industry.
In the ocean, octopuses change the color and texture of their bodies in the blink of an eye to evade predators or catch prey, blending perfectly into their surroundings. As if copying the colors of nearby coral or seaweed, they turn blue or red, and they smoothly curl their arms to move or snatch prey.
The Octoid developed by the KIST team goes beyond simply bending or stretching; it changes color in response to electrical stimuli and integrates functions to move and grasp objects in tune with its environment. The team developed photonic crystal polymers as a key material. By precisely controlling the helical molecular arrangement and polymer network structure of this material, they realized a structure that enables soft, flexible movements and color changes simultaneously, like a real octopus arm.
When an electrical signal is applied, the material's surface microscopically contracts and expands, showing continuous color shifts from blue to green to red. It also performs bending and straightening motions through asymmetric structural changes. Through this process, the Octoid can perform three functions—camouflaging, moving, and grabbing—simultaneously within a single system, like a real octopus.
Regarding the Octoid, KIST said, "It shows new possibilities for bio-inspired soft robot technology," and added, "The 'triple-in-one' system that combines camouflage, movement, and capture functions is expected to be used in the future for environment-adaptive exploration robots, deep-sea rescue, and marine ecosystem monitoring equipment. It is a technology that can also be extended to rehabilitation and medical tactile-assist robots, and to defense and concealment technology application systems."
This research was carried out with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT under the Global Young Connect for Materials program and the Nano Connect program. The results were published in the latest issue of the international journal "Advanced Functional Materials" (IF:19, JCR(%): 4.5%).
Kim Dae-yun, principal researcher at KIST, said, "Through this study, we secured materials for soft robots that can be applied to various fields, including autonomous adaptive robots, military camouflage systems, ocean exploration robots, and medical microrobots," and added, "We aim to expand this technology toward the development of intelligent soft machines, such as self-recognizing, reflexive, and learning-type soft robots."