The shield relies solely on optics, so it does not require a power source to produce its invisibility magic.Its cost? 400 dollars.
A British startup claims to have created a real-world ” invisibility shield ” that doesn’t even need power to work.
The company, conspicuously named Invisibility Shield Co , is now looking to fund its invention on Kickstarter, where it has generated more than $88,000 so far, from an initial goal of just $6,500.
For just $400, you can get your own full-size invisibility shield , which is over a meter tall.
How does it work?
While it’s not exactly futuristic-style invisibility technology , it’s a fun demonstration of a clever optical trick.
The technology behind this is remarkably simple. The shield deflects light around the subject using a “precision-engineered lens assembly,” according to the company’s Kickstarter page.
In other words, it’s a clever trick that reflects light in a horizontal direction so much that the subject hiding just behind the shield is almost completely “invisible”.
The science behind the invention is not perfect. The shield cannot perfectly replicate the scene behind the subject, but rather recreates it as a blurred representation.
“Shields work best against uniform backgrounds such as foliage, grass, plastered walls, sand, sky, and asphalt,” the Kickstarter page reads. “Backgrounds with defined horizontal lines also work very well and can be natural elements like the horizon or man-made elements like walls, rails or painted lines.”
It is not the first initiative shown in the world, although it is one of the first commercialized. A Canadian military camouflage company has announced a patent application for a material that can hide objects in the visible spectrum, or “make them invisible.” The company Hypersteatlh Biotechnology Corp. has been responsible for announcing this innovation, and has applied for up to four patents related to this technology.
This material, known as “Quantum Stealth”, not only hides a target in the field of view, but is also capable of neutralizing any type of spectrum analysis, such as infrared or ultraviolet lights.
The company Wow Stuff also announced its own layer, although with a trick: it works like a green screen or chroma key. The cape will cost $70 for its base model, and includes a phone holder.
