The authors suggest that their devices can be used by other scientists to observe things such as how camouflage can affect predator/prey relationships. Because these devices are non-living things but have the same camouflaging capabilities of some living things, they can avoid using animals for testing and experiments; something that is unavoidable otherwise.

The authors show us here that their devices can camouflage in the visible light spectrum as well as the IR spectrum. This is something animals cannot do, and this shows that animals are limited in their camouflaging capabilities while their devices are not limited.

This result sentence tells us that the robots have successfully camouflaged themselves because they have differences in brightness that mimicked the environment. Since the brightness patches did not outline the device structure, it blended right in.

This results sentence shows that the robot's dexterity, or ability to move easily/freely, was not heavily affected by the addition of the color layer. To elaborate on their point, they show that the robot with the color layer was 0.6 times the robot without a color layer. In short, the robot with the color layer is only a bit slower than the robot without one.

Wearing camouflage while hunting or as a fashion statement is common in most places around the globe. When one thinks about camouflage, the typical image that comes to mind is of camo uniforms in the military. However, some countries and territories ban the use and wearing of camouflage for a variety of reasons. One example of this is in the Philippines. Read more about this Philippian law here:

https://www.congress.gov.ph/legisdocs/basic_16/HB00368.pdf

Animal testing within the science field is arguably one of the most controversial practices in science. In fact, there are many organizations established to enforce laws and policies involving animal testing and studies. Using inanimate robots like those in this article instead of live animals ensures that research will not face any controversy in the public eye. One prominent organization is the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Read about their mission and history here:

https://www.peta.org/about-peta/

The electromagnetic spectrum is actually regulated by the government. Many policies and laws are in place for safety and limited space reasons. The Radio Act of 1927 established the Federal Radio Commission, and the Communications Act of 1934 ("the Act", 47 U.S.C. § 51 et seq), established the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). More on this can be found at:

https://www.ntia.doc.gov/book-page/who-regulates-spectrum#:~:text=The%20Radio%20Act%20of%201927,Federal%20Communications%20Commission%20(FCC).

This is a substance or compound added to a system to cause a chemical reaction, or added to test if a reaction occurs.

Something that relates to heat

This is an approximate representation of the distribution of numerical data

the emission of light during a chemical reaction which does not produce significant quantities of heat.

Investigation of the spectral make-up of surface-reflected radiation with respect to its angularly dependent intensity and the composition of the incident primary radiation.

An act or the power of moving from place to place.

made up of exactly similar parts facing each other or around an axis.

Allowing light, but not detailed shapes, to pass through; semitransparent.

a measure of elasticity, equal to the ratio of the stress acting on a substance to the strain produced.

Essentially modifying and tweaking the colors and temperatures of the fluids based on the electromagnetic spectrum.

is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water.

a tube with a nozzle and piston or bulb for sucking in and ejecting liquid in a thin stream, used for cleaning wounds or body cavities, or fitted with a hollow needle for injecting or withdrawing fluids.

Is a versatile principle that can be used for high speed actuation of liquid interfaces.

Is a channel with a hydraulic (contains liquid) diameter below 1 mm.

the action of causing a machine or device to operate.

A solid substance that has a conductivity between that of an insulator and that of most metals, either due to the addition of an impurity or because of temperature effects. One common semiconductor are silicon chips used in electronics.

Organisms that have a segmented body and jointed appendages, a usually chitinous exoskeleton molted at intervals, and a brain connected to a spinal cord.

Is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10nm to 400 nm, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight, and constitutes about 10% of the total electromagnetic radiation output from the Sun.

These are iridescent chromatophores, and chromatophores are cells that produce color, of which many types are pigment-containing cells, or groups of cells, found in a wide range of animals including amphibians, fish, reptiles, crustaceans and cephalopods.

Is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject.

To render invisible or unreadable, as by erasing or marking over

The authors refer to the microfluidic networks they made within soft machines. They mention that these networks can be changed within both visible and infrared light at the same time, and that living organisms cannot do this.

A form of light that is slightly above our visible light spectrum. Since it is not within our visible light spectrum, it is invisible to the naked eye, but it still provides useful applications in nature and everyday life such as remote controls for your television.

This is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or disguising them as something else.

Materials belonging to this category include things made up by smaller units called monomers. However, this category contains many monomers arranged in a way that keeps the overall object flexible and non rigid.

This is the production and emission of light by a living organism.