Tokyo professor working on Invisibility Technology

Yahoo! News ^

[spetznaz]

NEW YORK - A University of Tokyo professor claims he and his research team have developed a system that can make you 'invisible.'

Engineering Professor Susumu Tachi is in the early stages of technology that he says will eventually enable camouflaged objects to be virtually transparent by wearing an optical device.

Professor Tachi demonstrated the technology on Wednesday. In a photo of graduate student Kazutoshi Obana, it appears as if three men walking in the background can be seen 'through' Obana's green overcoat.

The retroreflective material of the coat acts as a screen and gives a transparent - or invisible - effect.

For the best effect - one that keeps the correct depth of focus - the observer needs to look through a pinhole.

Tachi's second example shows the image of the skeleton being projected onto a sheet of the retroreflective material, giving the impression the body has become transparent.

The technology could be useful in medicine, where surgeons might use it during operations to avoid having their fingers or surgical tools block their view.

In aviation, cockpit floors could become 'invisible' to assist pilots in landing.

Professor Tachi hopes to have a commercially viable system within a few years.

Is he 'The Invisible Man' by H.G. Wells? It looks like as if three men walking behind are seen through the body of graduate student Kazutoshi Obana during a demonstration of optical camouflage technology at the Tokyo University in Tokyo Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2003. The demonstration conducted by Faculty of Engineering Prof. Susumu Tachi is an early stage of his research that will eventually enable camouflaged objects virtually transparent by wearing an optical device. This photo was taken through a viewfinder that provides with a combined image of moving images taken behind Obana and him wearing a luminous jacket that makes a transparent effect. The technology can be useful for various professions such as surgeons who wish their own fingers and surgical tools won't block the view of affected parts and pilots who wish cockpit floors were transparent for landings

[Shermy]

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[Bogey78O]

The Philadelphia Expirement aka Project Rainbow. It was meant to create radar invisibility but has become the thing of conspiracy theorists. They made a movie about it "The Philadelphia Experiment"

[Bogey78O]

I wonder how this would look on a bomber?

[NP-INCOMPLETE]

This is a projection technology. For it to work the covering would have to "radiate" the background image. Different concepts are at work here.

[hoosierskypilot]

outcome of that experiment is still kind of hush, hush.

Yea, well, they could not verify the outcome. They lost the ship.

[rwfromkansas]

I believe they never found it.

I recall reading about the military trying this once and a ship got projected elsewhere.

This stuff is more akin to teleportation though, not invisibility.

[js1138]

This is essentially a Hollywood green screen.

[Free ThinkerNY]

Maybe they could use this technology to make the Clintons disappear.

[VaBthang4]

I dunno.

Why cant you see the bikerider through his arm? How come his head isnt invisible? It looks like the only thing it can make invisible is a single colored flat surface...which oh by the way...is great for projecting images onto...but I digress...alot of questions.
One thing is for sure...the writer of the article has to be the biggest dimwit reporter since Helen Thomas put pen to paper...or should I say chisel to stone tablet.

I would venture a guess that the military applications would probably be impacted quite a bit more than pilots trying to land a plane.

Hello!

[VaBthang4]

LOL

[TheLurkerX]

The thing that pisses me off is that I came up with this about 4 years ago, and even drew up plans for it. I couldn't figure out how to make it overall camo without it being pixelated, or complete camo on one side only. I didn't see any real defense use for it, because it would be too klunky or easily damaged for field deployment, and wouldn't be worth the cost of trying to affix it to aircraft. Especially when it's optical only, and not going to help with the heat or radar signature. Plus, I though the theory was so obvious that somebody had probably already played with it and rejected it. Cameras view the picture behind you, and then distribute it to banks of red/green/blue LEDs covering the other side, forming a mosaic of the image.

[Dengar01]

Didn't the Army test this sort of technology (making something invisible)? Seems I remember something that happened around WWII, that involved using Magnetic waves to make a Destroyer/Aircraft Carrier disapear. From what I understand the outcome of that experiment is still kind of hush, hush.

That would be the Philadelphia Experiment.

[RS]

"Cameras view the picture behind you, and then distribute it to banks of red/green/blue LEDs covering the other side, forming a mosaic of the image."

The only problem is that the image would have to "know" from what angle the viewer will be looking - For two observers, one five feet to the left of center and one five feet to the right, the same pixel would have to be from a different image.

[Lancey Howard]

Wowza!
This is the type of thing that you figure if some professor in Tokyo is "working on" it, our military probably already has it.

[Lancey Howard]

This photo was taken through a viewfinder that provides with a combined image of moving images taken behind Obana and him wearing a luminous jacket that makes a transparent effect.

Does this translate to fake photo?

[A CA Guy]

This is all BS. They have a camera in back and a poor projector in the front shooting the rear on the front in a very limited fashion.

Ancient technology, stinks. Godzilla was more modern than this in 1956.

[Richard Kimball]

Ancient technology, stinks. Godzilla was more modern than this in 1956.

I would also add that the 1956 Godzilla was better than the new Godzilla, although I still have trouble with the original in one aspect. How did that scientist think that showing a girl how he could kill tropical fish and turn them into skeletons would impress her?

Back to topic. I read an article in the Austin-American Statesman about 10 years ago about a high school student in Round Rock who had the idea of making cars invisible by using a series of cameras on one side with mirrors and a projection screen on the other. Also, George Lucas used a takeoff on this in the original Star Wars, by putting mirrors on the bottom of Luke Skywalkers car so it would reflect the surrounding ground and hide the tires. So, you're right, this is way old from a conceptual perspective.

[A CA Guy]

I agree with everything you said and would add that what made the old Godzilla better than the new stuff was black & white film. It hides tacky things and adds a feeling of mystery to a picture IMO!
Any of the old black and white horror flicks are at least mostly watchable still.

[I_dmc]

Same principle as used in The Predator. Ideally, you would have to have every surface reflect the image directly behind the "invisible" object. As shown in The Predator, it was a series of interlocking flat planes of view.

[lepton]

Cameras view the picture behind you, and then distribute it to banks of red/green/blue LEDs covering the other side, forming a mosaic of the image.

THAT has been part of Sci-Fi Camoflage for years.