Some living organisms are cryptically coloured with a wide range of hues and patterns for camouflage. Using thin, flexible membranes made from a polymer network of liquid crystals that are arranged in helical shapes, we have developed a kind of artificial chromatophore that can change colors instantly—from near-infrared to visible to ultraviolet—on demand. These soft materials may find uses in distinct applications such as cryptography, adaptive optics, and soft robotics.

We have designed a platform that programs the orientation of mechanically anisotropic molecules; thus, the surface wrinkles, promoted by such instabilities, can be patterned in the desired manner. The optics based on a spatial light modulator assembles wrinkle pixels of a notably small dimension over a large area at fast fabrication speed. This result enables new applications in optics such as image storage, informative labeling, and anti-counterfeiting.