Artificial adaptive camouflage systems that enable objects to blend seamlessly into their surroundings in real time typically use sensors and electronic displays to mirror and replicate their environments. However, these systems are often expensive and complex, making them difficult to integrate into real-world applications. Now, writing in Science Advances, Yonghao Zheng, Chen Wei, Dongsheng Wang and colleagues report the design of a material with intrinsic colour-switching capabilities that can match the colour of incoming light.

To extend the material’s colour-matching ability, DASAs are combined with non-photochromic dyes that provide a stable colour base, covering parts of the visible spectrum that DASAs alone cannot achieve, such as red, green, yellow and black (although blue and purple are currently beyond reach). By selectively absorbing or reflecting specific wavelengths, this combination allows the material to mimic different background colours based on the light exposure.