What we thought would always be in the realm of science fiction or magic is now a reality.
Military-grade invisibility screens are in the works, and they're called Quantum Stealth. Not only do they hide you from the naked eye, but they conceal you from infrared (night vision) detection and thermal imaging technology too.
Spearheaded by President/CEO Guy Cramer, the Quantum Stealth technology has been in development by HyperStealth Biotechnology Corporation (HyperStealth) since 2011. Founded in 1999, HyperStealth is a Canada-based military uniform manufacturer that supplies governments all over the world with military camouflage, like the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. It seems that they're taking their camouflage tech to a whole level military-grade invisibility tech.
The technology in action is featured on their website, with videos showing its performance in multiple applications as well as the science behind the tech.
Aside from their invisibility characteristics, Quantum Stealth also shows high adaptability (allowing you to fold and bend it, as well as working for all terrains at any time), easy portability due to its lightweight and small thickness, and it even works without a power source.
A true marvel of engineering, Quantum Stealth works by bending light and functioning similarly to a lenticular lens, an arrayed set of lenses so that different images are projected at different angles. Demonstrating with a laser pointer, a beam of light passed through the Quantum Stealth material stretches into a horizontal line behind it.
By manipulating the orientation of several lenticular lenses, Quantum Stealth is able to create "dead zones" where objects could be hidden. Later versions of Quantum Stealth were also able to incorporate methods of intentionally distorting images behind it, making it difficult for observers to identify what they are looking at. Bending the material also provides new ways of either hiding or distorting the object as well.
The downside to this tech is that the object must be at a certain distance from the material to be hidden effectively. If it's too close, observers can spot the object.
The military applications are endless. The Quantum Stealth website details several situations where it could be used, such as in concealed beach landings, providing cover for downed pilots, even so far as to hiding a whole fleet of tanks.
HyperStealth is also developing countermeasures to their own technology, in the event that the technology might fall in the wrong hands.
In their website, HyperStealth reveals their plans for the technology in the near future. With the patents for Quantum Stealth filed in 2019, HyperStealth plans to launch the product sometime in the future, depending on an acquisition decision by the government. The company will not sell the technology, rather, they will work with Fortune 500 companies to license the material instead.
The way we wage war, gather intelligence, and do surveillance is about to change completely. It remains to be seen what the future has in store once the technology becomes widely available.
As Quantum Stealth remarks: "The Age of Invisibility has Begun."
