Invisibility: Optical Camouflage

There was a lot of hoopla earlier this year when a Tokyo professor demonstrated a very crude “invisible cloak”. It really wasn’t nearly as revolutionary as it sounds, though—“a shiny raincoat that serves as a movie screen, showing imagery from a video camera positioned behind the wearer”.

A new Wired article delves into what might be required to make a real invisible cloak, though. Something comparable to the “Predator” effect. The theory is there and the technology technically exists, but it’s not really feasible. Unless you count a 10 billion GHz computer as feasible… But the idea is definitely cool.

Posted Wednesday July 9, 2003 in Interesting by Chris Curtis

This is an older entry and as such, it may be by a guest author or contain formatting problems / extraneous code. If you notice something wrong with the entry, please use the Contact page to let me know the entry title and issue.

Stick a webcam on your back and hold your laptop in front of you, screen facing out. Your friends will see right through you. It’s a great party trick.

LOL, I just tried this with a firewire video camera and my swivel screen iMac, and it worked like a charm.

By Derek Jones on July 9, 2003 at 02:04pm link

And I bet you looked like a dork, too.

By Chris Curtis on July 9, 2003 at 02:12pm link

Oh, I don’t know, you should have seen me. There I was, poised in my office chair, with my swivel Mac pointed towards my office’s nearest egress. After carefully aiming the camera and positioning my chair properly behind my screen, and sat a bit lower in the chair, I screamed loudly: “Noooo! I’ve lost my head!”

Three of my underlings came running to the door and what did they see? My body, and instead of a neck and head, the top of my chair and the wall behind me.

See, now that you’ve imagined the scene entirely, isn’t it cool now? Say it is before I cut you!

By Derek Jones on July 9, 2003 at 02:18pm link

I guess it’s slightly better than my initial mental image of you trying it out in a mirror. But not much.

You’re still a fucking dork for using the phrase “nearest egress” in a sentence.

Obviously I have to act like Tycho and insult you and correct things. See, I even remembered the cursing this time!

By Chris Curtis on July 9, 2003 at 02:24pm link

And exactly what did you correct? Oh that’s right, nothing.

And dude, I totally asked you to stop checking me out in the mirror.

By Derek Jones on July 9, 2003 at 02:28pm link

I never actually claimed to be good at my job. And that whole mirror thing? Nightmare, man… nightmare.

By Chris Curtis on July 9, 2003 at 02:41pm link

I’m just impressed to see Chris say fuck (or rather fucking) /smilies/shocked.gif
I’m going to be noting this one in my diary tonight! /smilies/1laugh.gif

By Jose on July 9, 2003 at 04:09pm link

Yeah? Well, bwohw it out yohw eah, cwapface!

By Chris Curtis on July 9, 2003 at 06:10pm link

Oooooooohhh...discownt bwiiiiick.

By Derek Jones on July 9, 2003 at 09:19pm link

Well, I was screeming FUCK when I read that Chris had joined the State Department’s Office of Special Circumstances. You had to have heard me. It was loud. I’ve recovered.

By Rick on July 10, 2003 at 01:04am link

Oh, that’s too good, Rick! I’d almost forgotten about that little joke. I never even knew you’d read it, either.

By Chris Curtis on July 10, 2003 at 06:17am link

I never even knew you’d read it, either.

I enjoy following the dichotomy that is Chris Curtis:

By day, a model citizen. Well groomed. Reserved. Polite.

By night… well, I don’t have to spell it out. We all know about Mr. Hyde.

By Rick on July 10, 2003 at 10:41am link

Chris Curtis dot Org

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