> Although the current cloak represents a major advance, the researchers want to develop more sophisticated versions capable of performing additional functions. One particularly important goal is to conceal objects that produce heat themselves
I read the entire thing thinking it could cloak a soldier
3 hours ago [-]
scotty79 3 hours ago [-]
It could cloak a well insulated soldier from being a dark spot on the background.
I believe the Russians tried something similar in Ukraine with cloaking themselves to fool infrared drones.
qlte 1 hours ago [-]
Using 50 cent Mylar blankets which ... did not work like they hoped from the videos I've seen.
computemachines 50 minutes ago [-]
Maybe this could be used to hide a cold spot from a wafer bake pin.
whatsakandr 7 hours ago [-]
This headline is wrong. This has nothing to do with thermal cameras. It's "cloaking" by making it appear to have the same bulk thermal properties as it's surroundings.
schiffern 6 hours ago [-]
Yes. Unfortunately many people are reading this thinking it's a FLIR invisibility cloak.
Notably it only works after the heat flow settles back down to equilibrium. If you're moving, it doesn't work.
natpalmer1776 5 hours ago [-]
Which seems like it would be good for fixed installations that need to remain undetected, no?
schiffern 4 hours ago [-]
The other caveat is that it only works if you're embedded inside a solid object. ;)
If you're in free space, the surface can't shine its IR differently in different directions, so under FLIR it will just look like the average ambient temperature. This is no better than existing (cheap and light) space blanket camo systems.
tescreal 6 hours ago [-]
Next cyberpunk wizpop toy: thermoptic cameoflage.
The future is turning out to be fascinating as concerning.
dalmo3 5 hours ago [-]
I've always wanted to hide apples inside pears.
jagged-chisel 7 hours ago [-]
Does this work for things that emit heat?
thenthenthen 6 hours ago [-]
The article mentions thats the next step
SeanAnderson 7 hours ago [-]
Doesn't everything emit heat? :)
chorsestudios 3 hours ago [-]
no, the vacuum of space does not emit heat
6 hours ago [-]
glitchc 7 hours ago [-]
Let me answer your question with a question: Does the infrared camera detect emitted heat?
jagged-chisel 4 hours ago [-]
Generally? Yes.
In this case? No idea.
vivzkestrel 3 hours ago [-]
- future soldier 2 loading....
nxobject 6 hours ago [-]
A Faraday for heat, eh?
graboy 7 hours ago [-]
Wow, a blanket!
scotty79 3 hours ago [-]
When you cover yourself with the blanket, others see the blanket. When you cover yourself with this, others see background.
thenthenthen 6 hours ago [-]
More like an iron maiden
bamboozled 6 hours ago [-]
Bad luck skynet
keyle 6 hours ago [-]
And that Predator monster!
SV_BubbleTime 8 hours ago [-]
[flagged]
jdlshore 8 hours ago [-]
Is dismissing people’s work so rudely how you make yourself feel superior?
thin_carapace 8 hours ago [-]
that guy taught me something new about glass in a snarky fashion , while you delivered pure snark. no comment to add, merely an observation
tarpitt 8 hours ago [-]
you can't make a drone entirely out of glass
onion2k 8 hours ago [-]
Can you fly a drone that's covered with a cloak?
mrandish 7 hours ago [-]
Probably not very well if the drone is the typical (quad)copter type since the shield will likely obstruct the airflow from the propellers reducing lift. The added weight of the shield is also likely to be a problem in small drones as most are already weight constrained. Although in small electric copters like those used in Ukraine, I'm not sure how often thermal imaging is used as a primary detection vector (due to size, distance and daytime thermal delta from below).
Thermal is definitely a primary vector in detecting larger drones like the Reaper due to large combustion or jet engines, but in that case the challenge isn't cloaking the drone, it's cloaking the heat of the vented exhaust that's likely leaving a thermal 'contrail' across the sky.
Rendered at 06:12:10 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Vercel.
I read the entire thing thinking it could cloak a soldier
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-73167-0
FYI Ukraine already has FLIR invisibility cloaks (fancy camo space blankets): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfdF3iIwoX4
This is thermal cloak, explained here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM2RJi4mRZ0&t=52s
Notably it only works after the heat flow settles back down to equilibrium. If you're moving, it doesn't work.
If you're in free space, the surface can't shine its IR differently in different directions, so under FLIR it will just look like the average ambient temperature. This is no better than existing (cheap and light) space blanket camo systems.
The future is turning out to be fascinating as concerning.
In this case? No idea.
Thermal is definitely a primary vector in detecting larger drones like the Reaper due to large combustion or jet engines, but in that case the challenge isn't cloaking the drone, it's cloaking the heat of the vented exhaust that's likely leaving a thermal 'contrail' across the sky.