New 3D thermal invisibility cloak makes objects disappear from infrared cameras
36 points by stevenalowe 3 days ago | 20 comments

tescreal 26 minutes ago
Next cyberpunk wizpop toy: thermoptic cameoflage.

The future is turning out to be fascinating as concerning.

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tejtm 3 hours ago
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AuthAuth 2 hours ago
This is gonna be going straight to Ukraine
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MrDrMcCoy 8 minutes ago
I certainly hope so!
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nxobject 19 minutes ago
A Faraday for heat, eh?
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bamboozled 36 minutes ago
Bad luck skynet
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keyle 22 minutes ago
And that Predator monster!
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graboy 2 hours ago
Wow, a blanket!
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thenthenthen 13 minutes ago
More like an iron maiden
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whatsakandr 2 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.
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schiffern 6 minutes ago
Yes. Unfortunately many people are reading this thinking it's a FLIR invisibility cloak.

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

Notably it only works after the heat flow settles back down to equilibrium. If you're moving, it doesn't work.

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jagged-chisel 2 hours ago
Does this work for things that emit heat?
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thenthenthen 12 minutes ago
The article mentions thats the next step
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glitchc 2 hours ago
Let me answer your question with a question: Does the infrared camera detect emitted heat?
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SeanAnderson 2 hours ago
Doesn't everything emit heat? :)
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SV_BubbleTime 3 hours ago
[flagged]
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jdlshore 3 hours ago
Is dismissing people’s work so rudely how you make yourself feel superior?
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thin_carapace 3 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
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tarpitt 3 hours ago
you can't make a drone entirely out of glass
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onion2k 3 hours ago
Can you fly a drone that's covered with a cloak?
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mrandish 2 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.

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