User: Tiger_blood: Cool!: Invisibility cloaks are almost a reality with fractal-camouflage clothing (Wired UK)

Invisibility cloaks are almost a reality with fractal-camouflage c...

This article was taken from the June 2012 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.

The art of military concealment is not just about making aircraft invisible to radar, but also about giving soldiers protection in the field. Since 1999 Canadian camouflage company HyperStealth Biotechnology has produced patterns for more than two million uniforms for the armed forces of 40 countries. Now, in partnership with military-technology company ADS Inc, it is bidding for one of the biggest contracts in the industry: the US Army's next-generation camouflage pattern. The company is one of four to develop patterns after the US government requested submissions. The winner will be announced later this year.

HyperStealth CEO Guy Cramer says the Quantum Stealth design (above) builds on his company's previous computer-generated digital patterns by using fractals that mimic the distribution of colour in natural surroundings. This makes the wearer practically invisible, says Cramer: "It provides that few extra seconds of concealment." Some of the details and technical features of HyperStealth's work cannot be revealed for reasons of military secrecy, and only mock-up pictures are available -- but this is a battlefield future we'd like to see. Or not.

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