WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Invisibility is an illusion, a magic trick – literally. As metamaterials improve you can expect this once science fiction-like technology to be perfected. Interested in the Exponential Future? Connect, download a free E-Book, watch a keynote, or browse my blog. Happy New Year! Today science fiction is becoming...
Invisibility is an illusion, a magic trick – literally. As metamaterials improve you can expect this once science fiction-like technology to be perfected.
Researchers and militaries around the world have been on a quest to create invisibility cloaks that can hide people and objects in plain sight for decades now, and with the continuous development of new metamaterials, materials that have properties not found naturally in nature, they’ve been getting closer and closer to realising their lofty goals. Now though Canadian camouflage manufacturer Hyperstealth Biotechnology has applied for patents on a new material that they’ve called “Quantum Stealth” that is, to all intents and purposes the world’s first believable invisibility cloak – even if the company still does have some work to do on perfecting it.
The “inexpensive and paper-thin” material works by bending light around a target to either alter its position or make it vanish altogether leaving only the background visible, and the company says it can “obscure the positions of heavy artillery, ground troops or even entire buildings from certain viewpoints.”
Geek out. [Hyperstealth’s long form demo reels are geographically restricted]
In a video released by Hyperstealth a small piece of material is attached to the top of a miniature tank, meaning it is unable to be seen from above, and they show it off by hiding a range of things, from people to jets – as you can see for yourself.
In another, inventor and Hyperstealth CEO Guy Cramer demonstrates the material when covering a handheld riot shield. When held close to the body Kramer’s distorted torso is still visible, but when held out at arm’s length it vanishes into the background. While still in development, with obvious distortion when looking at the material, Quantum Stealth has also been demonstrated to hide targets in the infrared, ultraviolet and thermal spectrum’s too.
“One piece of Quantum Stealth can work in any environment in any season at any time of the day or night, something no other camouflage is capable of,” said Cramer.
The material has been in development for several years now but the patent application by Hyperstealth, which has provided traditional camouflage for armies in Afghanistan, Chile and Jordan, now means that it’s a step closer to being mass manufactured for the world’s militaries and Harry Potter fans.
As for now though if you were one of those parents that paid northwards of £80 for a Harry Potter invisibility cloak for your children for Christmas like some of the parents I know then soon you might be able to get your hands on the real deal…
Matthew Griffin, described as “The Adviser behind the Advisers” and a “Young Kurzweil,” is the founder and CEO of the World Futures Forum and the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures consultancy working between the dates of 2020 to 2070, and is an award winning futurist, and author of “Codex of the Future” series.
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