Tokyo-based Keio University has developed a cool optical camouflage system that can make a person invisible – almost, at least. The technology was showcased during the Digital Content Expo 2008 in Tokyo.
All the person who wants to be “invisible” has to do is to wear a recursive reflective coat. The problem is just that the effect is only possible if the person in question is seen through a camera.
Still, Keio’s Inami Laboratory of the Graduate School of Media Design says their technology can serve a purpose. For example, users can mount a camera outside their cars, project the recorded video from the environment into the (coated) inside of the vehicles, making it easier and safer to drive backwards, i.e. when parking.
Looks cool! But I’d like to have seen someone else moving behind him. It looks too much like an image is simply being projected on his coat.
The car example drawing looks promising. I just wonder how that would work considering the fact that the transparency is only achieved while viewing the material through a lens.