Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Photo-Veil Camo Digi Military Wrap
Photo-Veil from Military Wraps is a mesh material that uses images gathered from cameras on drones, satellites and lidar to camouflage military vehicles.
(Photo Veil Military Wraps)
The lightweight, customizable, foldable, portable and waterproof mesh material is also able to mask thermal and infrared output, making it ideal for blinds and ghillie suits.
Camouflage differs with each battlespace. In addition, painting camouflage on vehicles has been a time-consuming and costly endeavor. Vehicles must be moved to a shop, painted and returned to the unit, which means they are not in operational service for that period. Structures had their own challenges. Camouflage painters had to go to the structure.The challenge for the company was showing others how to use the technology in the field. Help came from AS&C’s MilTech program, which enabled the company to develop a train-the-trainer course. As a result, military personnel can apply the camouflage technology in the field, and train others to apply it.
It's not very clear how this material actually works. For example, is it a one-time-use material that accepts an image for a single location? Or, can it perform it's camouflage trick at the whim of its operator?
Anyway, it's a science-fictional idea any way you look at it. Depending on your reading, you might be reminded of the mimetic polycarbon suit from the 1984 novel Neuromancer by William Gibson:
His body was nearly invisible, an abstract pattern approximating the scribbled brickwork sliding smoothly across his tight one piece.
Or, you might be thinking of chameleon cloth from the 1977 novel Dying of the Light by George R.R. Martin:
They rode forward together, gaining altitude steadily... The chameleon cloth overalls they wore had gone all gray and white...
Depending on how fast it performs its tricks as a ghillie suit, you might even be thinking of the scramble suit from the 1977 classic novel A Scanner Darkly by Philip Kindred Dick:
As the computer looped through its banks, it projected every conceivable eye color, hair color, shape and type of nose, formation of teeth, configuration of facial bone structure - the entire shroudlike membrane took on whatever physical characteristics were projected at any nanosecond, then switched to the next...
See Military Wraps and Military Wraps Photo-Veil info (pdf) for more information; via Gizmodo.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/26/2009)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 3 )
Related News Stories - (" Clothing ")
Skip Movewear Arc'teryx AI Pants
'...the terrible Jovian gravity that made each movement an effort.' - Edmond Hamilon, 1930.
Kolors Virtual-Try-On Predicted, And TRIED, By Harry Harrison
'Bill blinked at his own face under the plumed helmet...' - Harry Harrison, 1965
Qore IcePlates Are Personal Cooling Suits
'... underneath they consisted of networks of cooling tubes against the skin.' - Neal Stephenson, 2021.
Fabrican Dress Sprayed Directly Onto Model On Coperni Runway
'...that might appeal to women, because by discharging from a few or a few dozen bottles a liquid that immediately set into fabrics... they could have a new creation every time.' - Stanislaw Lem, 1961.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
China Steals Strato Airship Design From Google App Engine
'...war-balloons, or, as it would be more correct to call them, navigable aerostats.'
The First Space Warship For Space Force
'Each of the electrical ships carried about twenty men...'
Biohybrid Jellyfish Explore The Ocean
As predicted, and detailed, by science fiction writers!
Should AIs and AI Robots Demand Rights?
'This robot is a creature... It is a manlike being. Therefore, like any other talking, thinking man, he is entitled to a court trial!'
Robot Learns Human Tool Usage By Imitation Learning
'I got one of those new electronic cameras...'
Companion Caregiver ChatGPT Dolls
'Every Artificial Friend is unique, right?'
'Pregnancy Humanoids' From China Replace Moms
'A great many of these synthetic babies were made...'
Man Builds 200 Foot Basement Firing Range
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock.'
Russians Create Robot Tank Platoons
'The remotely-operated robot tank is an old idea...'
3D-Printed Exoskeleton Learns From Your Hand
'...small electric motors at the principal joints worked the prosthetic framework by means of steel cables...'
Smartwatch Powered By Slime Mold
'Living protoplasm incorporated into the Ampek F-a2 recording system...'
Unmanned Boats Attack At Sea
'The autofreighter smashed into the boat...'
Carpentopod Walking Table
'Twoflower's Luggage, which was currently ambling along on its little legs...'
Iron Drone Raider Counter-UAV Operations
'You've got an aggressive machine up in the air now.'
SpaceX Rocket Shuttle Point-To-Point On Earth
'He came to as the ship went into free flight, arching in a high parabola over the plains...'
Quaise Uses Beams Of Energy To Dig Geothermal Wells
'The peculiar quality of this light, which gave it its great preeminence over all other penetrating rays...'
