Drawing inspiration from marine animals, researchers at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln are creating synthetic skins that could power the next wave of soft machines, robots, and interactive devices.
Brennan Watts, a fourth-year doctoral student, looks through a microscope at a checkerboard-patterned hydrogel with Stephen Morin, associate professor of chemistry. Image Credit: Liz McCue | University Communication and Marketing
These new materials are designed to replicate the mechanical behavior of chromatophores—tiny pigment-containing organs found in squids, octopuses, cuttlefish, and similar species. In nature, chromatophores function when small radial muscles pull on pigment sacs, causing the pigment to expand and become visible through the skin.
We are working in an emergent area sometimes called autonomous materials. Autonomous materials have the ability to interact, sense and react with their environment in the absence of user input.
Stephen Morin, Study Author and Associate Professor, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
By mimicking the color-changing function of cephalopods, Morin’s team has developed stretchable, microstructured skins made from stimuli-responsive materials. When layered, these synthetic chromatophores can be programmed to react to specific environmental cues, making them promising tools for soft robotics and next-generation human-machine interfaces.
In the lab, doctoral student Brennan Watts examines a checkerboard-patterned hydrogel under a microscope alongside Morin. These hydrogels are part of the team’s effort to design materials that could act as environmental sensors or visual displays—potentially replacing rigid, power-dependent screens with flexible, adaptive alternatives.
“It unlocks a lot of very interesting opportunities in soft robotics, new types of human-machine interfaces,” Morin stated.
That could include display and reporting technologies that are inherently stretchable and conformable.
“Imagine what a squid or an octopus can do in terms of creating patterns and doing so very rapidly and dynamically, but in an entirely synthetic structure,” added Morin.
“These types of devices are very versatile. We can finely tune the chemistry of the individual components and have materials that respond to very specific stimuli. You could have a wearable technology that simultaneously reports the temperature, pH, humidity, all sorts of different parameters in a given environment. Doing that with traditional technologies, it would be challenging to measure all of those at the same time,” stated Brennan Watts, a fourth-year doctoral student in chemistry working with Morin.
While this “soft materials” technology isn’t intended to fully replace existing systems, its chemical adaptability and ability to function in challenging environments—especially wet or aqueous conditions—make it a valuable complement to current technologies.
Alongside Morin and Watts, the research team includes Matthew R. Jamison, John M. Kapitan, Nengjian Huang, and Delroy Taylor, all graduate students in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Department of Chemistry.
Journal Reference:
Watts, B. P., et al. (2025) Synthetic Chromatophores for Color and Pattern Morphing Skins. Advanced Materials. doi.org/10.1002/adma.202505104.