Active Camouflage

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Active camouflage

Illustrating the concept, i.e. active captureand re-display, creates an "illusory transpar-ency", also known as "computer mediatedreality"

Active camouflage or adaptive camou-

flage, is a group ofcamouflage technologies

which allow an object to blend into its sur-

roundings by use of panels or coatings cap-

able of altering their appearance, color, lu-

minance and reflective properties. Active

camouflage has the capacity to provide per-

fect concealment from visual detection.

DefinitionActive camouflage differs from conventional

means of concealment in two important

ways: firstly, it makes the camouflaged object

appear not merely similar to its surround-ings, but effectively invisible through the use

of mimicry; secondly, active camouflage

changes the appearance of the object as

changes occur in the background. Ideally,active camouflage mimics nearby objects as

well as objects as distant as the horizon.

Active camouflage has its origins in the

diffused lighting camouflage first tested on

Canadian Navy corvettes during World War

II, and later in the armed forces of the United

Kingdom and the United States of America.

Current systems began with a United

States Air Force program which placed low-

intensity blue lights on aircraft. As night

skies are not pitch black, a 100 percentblack-colored aircraft might be rendered vis-

ible. By emitting a small amount of blue light,

the aircraft blends more effectively into the

night sky.

Active camouflage is rumored to have

taken a new turn with the development of the

Boeing Bird of Prey, which apparently took

the technology further. (The Bird of Prey was

a black project and available data is limited.)

Active camouflage is poised to develop at

a rapid pace with the development oforganic

light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and other tech-

nologies which allow for images to be projec-

ted onto irregularly-shaped surfaces. With

the addition of a camera, an object may not

be made completely invisible, but may in the-

ory mimic enough of its surrounding back-

ground to avoid detection by the human eye

as well as optical sensors. As motion may still

be noticeable, an object might not be

rendered undetectable under this circum-

stance but potentially more difficult to hit.

This has been demonstrated with videos of"wearable" displays where the camera could

see "through" the wearer.

Optical CamouflageResearchSee also: Cloak of invisibility

University of TokyoOutside fiction, the concept exists only in the-

ory and in proof-of-concept prototypes, al-

though many experts consider it technically

feasible. In 2003 three professors at

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Active camouflage

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University of Tokyo Susumu Tachi,

Masahiko Inami and Naoki Kawakami cre-

ated a prototypical camouflage system in

which a video camera takes a shot of the

background and displays it on a cloth using

an external projector. The same year Time

magazine named it the coolest invention of

2003. [1] With flexible electronics such as a

flexible liquid crystal display that would per-

mit display of the background image by the

material itself, this form of optical camou-

flage may closely resemble its fictional

counterparts.

UC BerkeleyIn 2008, the University of California at Berke-

ley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab-

oratory announced the creation of a metama-

terial which has a negative refraction index;that is, light doesnt reflect or refract on it.

Instead, light bends around the object. It cur-

rently works only on microwave frequencies

but is expected to work on the visible spec-

trum as the materials are made smaller. The

technology is being funded by the US milit-

ary.[1]

Holography

Phased array optics (PAO) provides an imple-mentation of optical camouflage. Instead of

producing a two dimensional image of back-

ground scenery on an object, PAO would use

computational holography to produce a three

dimensional hologram of background scenery

on an object to be concealed. Unlike a two di-

mensional image, the holographic image

would appear to be the actual scenery behind

the object independent of viewer distance or

view angle.[2]

In fictionThe active camouflage suit by name is cred-

ited to science fiction author Philip K. Dickin

his 1974 novel A Scanner Darkly. Worn by

the narcotics double agent Bob Arctor/Fred,

the "scramble suit" is described as a flexible

sheath covering the body of the wearer with

a reflective/refractive coating on the inside

surface that transfers the camouflaging pat-

tern projected by a holographic lens moun-

ted on the wearers head onto the outsidesurface of the sheath.

Satirical wearable version ofillusorytrans-parencymade from a tiling offlat panel dis-plays supplied with images from cameras,and a computer processing system. This func-tioning prototype is limited by the number ofsensors and transducers.

Dicks invention has been copied many

times in novels, films and video games to be-

come a standard device in science fiction.

Examples appear in the Arnold Schwarzeneg-

ger film Predator, the James Bond film Die

Another Day, the Metal Gear Solid video

game series, the MMOFPS gamePlanetSide,

the Halo video game series, the Crysis

games nanosuit, and within Japanese Anime

Manga series like Ghost in the Shell and

Gantz cited as the inspiration for TokyoUniversity experiments into optical camou-

flage. A similar cloaking device is found in

Star Trek, however this example does not

achieve active camouflage in the same way.

It is notable that in Ghost in the Shell, the

Thermoptic Camouflage offers concealment

in both the visible light and infrared spectra.

Also it will flicker or cease to function upon

contact with water (dependent upon quantity

or intensity) or a harsh physical impact.

In the book seriesArtemis Fowl, the L.E.P(Lower Elements Police) have technology

similar to this in the form of "camfoil". While


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http://wiki/University_of_Tokyohttp://wiki/Susumu_Tachihttp://w/index.php?title=Masahiko_Inami&action=edit&redlink=1http://w/index.php?title=Naoki_Kawakami&action=edit&redlink=1http://wiki/Time_magazinehttp://wiki/Time_magazinehttp://www.time.com/time/2003/inventions/invinvisible.htmlhttp://wiki/Flexible_electronicshttp://wiki/Liquid_crystal_displayhttp://wiki/2008http://wiki/University_of_California_at_Berkeleyhttp://wiki/University_of_California_at_Berkeleyhttp://wiki/Lawrence_Berkeley_National_Laboratoryhttp://wiki/Lawrence_Berkeley_National_Laboratoryhttp://wiki/Metamaterialhttp://wiki/Metamaterialhttp://wiki/Visible_spectrumhttp://wiki/Visible_spectrumhttp://wiki/US_militaryhttp://wiki/US_militaryhttp://wiki/Phased_array_opticshttp://wiki/Computer_generated_holographyhttp://wiki/Science_fictionhttp://wiki/Authorhttp://wiki/Philip_K._Dickhttp://wiki/1974http://wiki/Novelhttp://wiki/A_Scanner_Darklyhttp://wiki/Narcoticshttp://wiki/Double_agenthttp://wiki/Coatinghttp://wiki/Holographichttp://wiki/Lens_(optics)http://wiki/Illusionhttp://wiki/Transparency_(optics)http://wiki/Transparency_(optics)http://wiki/Flat_panel_displayhttp://wiki/Flat_panel_displayhttp://wiki/Arnold_Schwarzeneggerhttp://wiki/Arnold_Schwarzeneggerhttp://wiki/Predator_(movie)http://wiki/James_Bondhttp://wiki/Die_Another_Dayhttp://wiki/Die_Another_Dayhttp://wiki/Metal_Gear_Solidhttp://wiki/Video_gamehttp://wiki/Video_gamehttp://wiki/MMOFPShttp://wiki/PlanetSidehttp://wiki/Halo_(video_game_series)http://wiki/Crysishttp://wiki/Animehttp://wiki/Mangahttp://wiki/Ghost_in_the_Shellhttp://wiki/Gantzhttp://wiki/Tokyo_Universityhttp://wiki/Tokyo_Universityhttp://wiki/Cloaking_devicehttp://wiki/Star_Trekhttp://wiki/Ghost_in_the_Shellhttp://wiki/Artemis_Fowl_(book)http://wiki/Artemis_Fowl_(book)http://wiki/Ghost_in_the_Shellhttp://wiki/Star_Trekhttp://wiki/Cloaking_devicehttp://wiki/Tokyo_Universityhttp://wiki/Tokyo_Universityhttp://wiki/Gantzhttp://wiki/Ghost_in_the_Shellhttp://wiki/Mangahttp://wiki/Animehttp://wiki/Crysishttp://wiki/Halo_(video_game_series)http://wiki/PlanetSidehttp://wiki/MMOFPShttp://wiki/Video_gamehttp://wiki/Video_gamehttp://wiki/Metal_Gear_Solidhttp://wiki/Die_Another_Dayhttp://wiki/Die_Another_Dayhttp://wiki/James_Bondhttp://wiki/Predator_(movie)http://wiki/Arnold_Schwarzeneggerhttp://wiki/Arnold_Schwarzeneggerhttp://wiki/Flat_panel_displayhttp://wiki/Flat_panel_displayhttp://wiki/Transparency_(optics)http://wiki/Transparency_(optics)http://wiki/Illusionhttp://wiki/File:Sousveillance-invisibility-suit.jpghttp://wiki/File:Sousveillance-invisibility-suit.jpghttp://wiki/Lens_(optics)http://wiki/Holographichttp://wiki/Coatinghttp://wiki/Double_agenthttp://wiki/Narcoticshttp://wiki/A_Scanner_Darklyhttp://wiki/Novelhttp://wiki/1974http://wiki/Philip_K._Dickhttp://wiki/Authorhttp://wiki/Science_fictionhttp://wiki/Computer_generated_holographyhttp://wiki/Phased_array_opticshttp://wiki/US_militaryhttp://wiki/US_militaryhttp://wiki/Visible_spectrumhttp://wiki/Visible_spectrumhttp://wiki/Metamaterialhttp://wiki/Metamaterialhttp://wiki/Lawrence_Berkeley_National_Laboratoryhttp://wiki/Lawrence_Berkeley_National_Laboratoryhttp://wiki/University_of_California_at_Berkeleyhttp://wiki/University_of_California_at_Berkeleyhttp://wiki/2008http://wiki/Liquid_crystal_displayhttp://wiki/Flexible_electronicshttp://www.time.com/time/2003/inventions/invinvisible.htmlhttp://wiki/Time_magazinehttp://wiki/Time_magazinehttp://w/index.php?title=Naoki_Kawakami&action=edit&redlink=1http://w/index.php?title=Masahiko_Inami&action=edit&redlink=1http://wiki/Susumu_Tachihttp://wiki/University_of_Tokyo


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invisible to human eye, it does not work with

cameras and can be shorted out by a shower

or moisture in the air. It was developed to as-

sist Faries as shielding (their natural cloak-

ing, caused by vibrating at high frequencies)

takes a lot out of them..

In the popular video game series Halo,

active camouflage is a power-up that can be

obtained. Certain variants of the games alien

race ofElites use this as well and are almost

invisible, appearing as faint outlines of them-

selves against the games landscape. Active

camouflage is also used by the spies in the

multiplayer modes of Splinter Cell: Chaos

Theory, making them harder to spot;

however, it had a very limited power supply,

making the suit only work for fifteen seconds,

and contact with water will also short the

system out. An additional fictional example of active

camouflage in animals is the Gila-Munga, a

race of extraterrestrial assassins appearing

in Judge Dredd, a story serialized in the

weekly British comic book anthology 2000

AD.

In animalsSee also: Category:Animals that can change

color

Active camouflage is not a human invention.

The most convincing example of active cam-

ouflage in animals is the octopus, which can

blend into its surroundings by changing skin

color as well as skin shape and texture. The

cuttlefish, another cephalopod like the oc-

topus, is also known for its color changing

capabilities. Cuttlefish can produce more col-

ors than most octopuses can. The chameleon

can also change its color to blend with its

surroundings. However, a chameleon more

routinely changes color based on body tem-perature and how stressed it is. The ability is

also used to communicate with other

chameleons. Color change is also communic-

ative in octopuses and cuttlefish.

See also Cloaking device

Stealth technology

Phased array optics

Predator Cloaking Device

Cuttlefish changing color

References Burr, E. Godfrey. "Illumination for

Concealment of Ships at Night."

Transactions of the Royal Society of

Canada (Third series, volume XLI, May

1947, p. 45-54).

No Day Long Enough: Canadian Science

in World War II. Editor: George R.

Lindsey. (Toronto: Canadian Institute of

Strategic Studies, 1997), p. 172-173.

Summary Technical Report of Division 16,

NDRC. Volume 2: Visibility Studies and

Some Applications in the Field of

Camouflage. (Washington, D.C.: Office of

Scientific Research and Development,

National Defense Research Committee,

1946), p. 14-16 and 225-241. [Declassified

August 2, 1960].

Waddington, C.H. O.R. in World War 2:

Operational Research Against the U-Boat.

(London: Elek Science, 1973), p. 164-167.

[1] Invisibility shields one step closer with

new metamaterials that bend lightbackwards


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[2] Wowk B (1996). "Phased Array Optics".

in BC Crandall. Molecular Speculations

on Global Abundance.MIT Press.

pp. 147160.ISBN 0262032376.

http://www.phased-array.com/

1996-Book-Chapter.html. Retrieved on

2007-02-18.

External links "Multi-perspective background simulation

cloaking process and apparatus", United

States Patent & Trademark Office

"Now you see it, now you wont: Boeing

lifts the veil on stealthy Bird of Prey",

Janes International Defence Review

article mentioning Bird of Preys daylight

stealth capability

"Scientist show off invisible coat", The

Sydney Morning Herald, March 30, 2003

Optical Camouflage

Phased Array Optics

"Thermal and Visual Camouflage System

Patent No 6,338,292", United States

Patent & Trademark Office

"Car that utilizes visual camouflage to

change its color", Chameleon Car

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_camouflage"

Categories: Military camouflage, Military electronics

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