Now you can buy your own “Cloaking Device” — Invisibility no longer exclusive to Sci Fi and Harry Potter

If you’ve ever read of something like Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak and thought to yourself—Hey, that’d be cool—you’re going to like this.

A tech startup out of the UK has figured out the technology required to create an invisibility shield and if you’re a little skeptical, definitely read on. Most people have already seen some home DIY projects that involve bending some plastics to create a convex ‘invisibility shield’. It’s a pretty neat project, but let’s face it—there’s just an obvious blur where a person would be standing—it makes for nice content, but it’s not effective for the real world.

YouTuber Chris Ramsay tests Invisibility Shield:

Distorting light using a convex mirror certainly works to obscure the subject and can be very effective in the right environment and at a distance. However, when standout features of the landscape are interrupted a big blur—for example, the painted lines in a parking lot, or the horizon as seen from the beach—it’s totally ineffective.

Well, that’s where new technology has been making strides.

*The Invisibility Shield Kickstarter image.*

There is no denying that this is the exact kind of thing that the military is going to be all over—and they are. Using different technologies than our startup subject, they have moved lightyears ahead. Unfortunately, the military doesn’t usually like to share its newest toys with the general public—for obvious reasons. This brings us back to the business in question—the aptly named Invisibility Shield Co. So how does their tech work? Quite well, it turns out!

Understanding Lens Array

The technology behind this effect is called lens array and is inspired by how the eyes of insects work, except for invisibility it’s reversed. Let’s take a closer look at how it works.

A precision-engineered lens array diverts light from behind the subject, using a convex design to cast the light out in front of them. The light that reflects off of the subject is in turn cast out away from the would-be viewer. So it works best in a head-on setting and still works on the principles of distorting light, however there is a big difference between this precision-engineered invisibility shield, then in the DIY convex types.

As it employs light from behind the subject to create the illusion, it is able to project the features that are behind them, in front. In other words, if you are standing behind one of these clever devices in a parking lot with painted lines, they will appear uninterrupted to the would-be viewer!

Invisibility Sheilds – Now Available to Order

It’s a far more convincing effect when it utilizes features behind. It does work best in solidly featured settings such as a grassy field or forest, but it is a lot closer to true invisibility than we’ve come thus far — at least, for we civilians, non-military users. What’s really cool about this, is you can order one!

If you’re interested in supporting this kind of technology you can check out Invisibility Sheild Co.’s Kickstarter campaign, and try one out for yourself! Let us know how that works out for you!