From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Active camouflage
Illustrating the concept, i.e. active capture
and re-display, creates an "illusory transpar-
ency", also known as "computer mediated
reality"
Active camouflage or adaptive camou-
flage, is a group of camouflage 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.
Definition
Active 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
1
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 percent
black-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 of organic
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 Camouflage
Research
See also: Cloak of invisibility
University of Tokyo
Outside 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

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 Berkeley
In 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 doesn’t 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 fiction
The active camouflage suit by name is cred-
ited to science fiction author Philip K. Dick in
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 wearer’s head — onto the outside
surface of the sheath.
Satirical wearable version of illusory trans-
parency made from a tiling of flat panel dis-
plays supplied with images from cameras,
and a computer processing system. This func-
tioning prototype is limited by the number of
sensors and transducers.
Dick’s 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 game PlanetSide,
the Halo video game series, the Crysis
game’s nanosuit, and within Japanese Anime
Manga series like Ghost in the Shell and
Gantz — cited as the inspiration for Tokyo
University 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 series Artemis Fowl, the L.E.P
(Lower Elements Police) have technology
similar to this in the form of "camfoil". While

2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Active camouflage

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 game’s alien
race of Elites use this as well and are almost
invisible, appearing as faint outlines of them-
selves against the game’s 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 animals
Cuttlefish changing color
See also: Category:Animals that can change
color
Active camouflage is not a human invention. References
The most convincing example of active cam-
• Burr, E. Godfrey. "Illumination for
ouflage in animals is the octopus, which can
Concealment of Ships at Night."
blend into its surroundings by changing skin
Transactions of the Royal Society of
color as well as skin shape and texture. The
Canada (Third series, volume XLI, May
cuttlefish, another cephalopod like the oc-
1947, p. 45-54).
topus, is also known for its color changing
• No Day Long Enough: Canadian Science
capabilities. Cuttlefish can produce more col-
in World War II. Editor: George R.
ors than most octopuses can. The chameleon
Lindsey. (Toronto: Canadian Institute of
can also change its color to blend with its
Strategic Studies, 1997), p. 172-173.
surroundings. However, a chameleon more
• Summary Technical Report of Division 16,
routinely changes color based on body tem-
NDRC. Volume 2: Visibility Studies and
perature and how stressed it is. The ability is
Some Applications in the Field of
also used to communicate with other
Camouflage. (Washington, D.C.: Office of
chameleons. Color change is also communic-
Scientific Research and Development,
ative in octopuses and cuttlefish.
National Defense Research Committee,
1946), p. 14-16 and 225-241. [Declassified
See also August 2, 1960].
• Waddington, C.H. O.R. in World War 2:
• Cloaking device
Operational Research Against the U-Boat.
• Stealth technology
(London: Elek Science, 1973), p. 164-167.
• Phased array optics
[1] Invisibility shields one step closer with
• Predator Cloaking Device
new metamaterials that bend light
backwards

3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Active camouflage

[2] Wowk B (1996). "Phased Array Optics".
in BC Crandall. Molecular Speculations
on Global Abundance. MIT Press.
pp. 147–160. 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 won’t: Boeing
lifts the veil on stealthy Bird of Prey",
Jane’s International Defence Review
article mentioning Bird of Prey’s 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

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Categories: Military camouflage, Military electronics

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