Native to the Western Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean, the octopus uses the iridescent blue rings on its underlying brown skin to signal to other creatures, camouflage itself and ward off enemies. To mimic this action, the UCI team used wrinkled blue rings surrounding brown circles, sandwiched between a transparent proton-conducting electrode and an underlying acrylic membrane, with another identical electrode underneath. The work is published in Nature Communications. According to senior co-author Alon Gorodetsky, the type of molecules used to fabricate the coloured blue ring layer are what endow the devices with their outstanding features, including adjustable spectroscopic properties, ease of manufacturing and stability under illumination. Read More