"Animals in the natural world - particularly cephalopods: octopus, squid and cuttlefish - have really spectacular colour-changing capabilities," he told BBC News. Image copyright Cunjiang Yu Image caption Researchers tested out the material on the initials of their workplace - the University of Illinois 
 
 Based on the camouflage abilities of octopuses and cuttlefish, engineers in the US have built a flexible material that changes colour to match its surroundings. Image copyright GREGORY OCHOCKI/SPL Image caption Octopuses, known for their camouflage abilities, also use a special three-layered skin 
 
 In particular, they copied the three-layer design seen in the skin of these animals: the top layer contains the colours, the middle layer drives the colour changes, and the lower layer senses the background patterns to be copied. These actuators take the place of muscles within octopus skin, which control colour-changing organs in the surface layer. Cuttlefish fashion 
 
 The applications go beyond the obvious associations of camouflage, where Prof Rogers said there is "obvious potential" - potential which led to the work being funded by the US Navy. But our goal is not to make adaptable wallpaper; it’s on the fundamentals.” 
 
 Obviously, the material will have to be improved. PNAS http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1410494111
– Scientists have taken the first rudimentary step toward developing a material that can do what octopuses and squid have mastered: change color on a whim. Researchers at the University of Houston and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign "developed a flexible pixellated sheet that can detect light falling upon it and change its pattern to match," writes Ed Yong at National Geographic. Their sheet can turn from black to white and then back to black, which the researchers admit is a far cry from the cephalopods' mad skills. "But it's a pretty good starting point," says one of the lead scientists. The technique borrows the general principle of the animals' skin, which has three layers, explains the BBC: "The top layer contains the colors, the middle layer drives the color changes, and the lower layer senses the background patterns to be copied." Scientists used photosensors to detect changes of light, and dyes responded accordingly. The research is funded by the US Navy, but plenty of non-military applications are possible, including one suggested by an art professor in Chicago who studies fashion. Think the opposite of camouflage, with material that responds to your surroundings: "Maybe you want your clothing configured so that you stand out from the crowd," says the researcher. (Click to read about a deep-sea octopus then guards her eggs for four years.)