A research team in South Korea has done just that has developed a software robot called Octoid which can imitate the movement and behavior of an octopus in its natural habitat. The robot’s “three-in-one” system allows it to change color, move and catch prey in a fascinating way similar to that of an aquatic animal.
While the scientific community has been working on modeling octopus-inspired robots for more than a decade, for the first time scientists have succeeded in combining how an octopus moves and camouflages itself into a single robot.
Octoid was built by researchers at the Korean Institute of Science and Technology led by a scientist named Dae-Yoon Kim.
“We want to extend this technology to the development of intelligent software machines, such as self-aware, reflective and learning-based software robots,” Kim said in a statement on Thursday.
colored crystals
The base material used for Octoid is called Photonic Crystal Polymer. it is one nanostructured material It can do interesting things when light passes through it. Separation and reflection of certain wavelengths of light. this type of polymer can display bright colors within its structure.
There are many photonic crystal polymers available today. real applicationssuch as high-tech sensors, remote communication and optical calculation. However, using this material to create soft robots is still a relatively new and emerging field in robotics.
The researchers used polymers to give the robot a special structure that can move fluidly and flexibly while changing color. The team was able to control the robot using electrical signals that caused microscopic contraction and expansion, causing the Octoid to change from blue to green to red.
Water robotics
The octopus has only one body. he is interested researcher for years. we saw robot that move like them tentacle of an octopus from different laboratories and companies. But it’s not just about octopuses; sea animals like catch the imagination of robotics experts around the world.
The team behind Octoid says the robot offers new possibilities biomimetic Soft robotics. They say the technology manifested in the Octoid’s body has the potential to help in areas such as deep-sea rescue, marine ecology monitoring and hospital robots to advance humans, as well as military applications.
“Through this research, we have obtained materials for software robots that can be used in various fields, including autonomous adaptive robots, military stealth systems, ocean exploration robots and medical micro-robots,” Kim said.
the paper originally published in Advanced Functional Materials on October 15, 2025.
