BAE Systems ADAPTIV invisibility cloak is getting some new attention online today after the University of Rochester announced its new quantum imaging tech.
The following pictures are from a BAE Systems video that highlights what the system can do.
See the pictures >
Developed and patented in Sweden. ADAPTIV functions over infra-red and other electronic frequencies. While it can blend the coated vehicle into the background, making it seem invisible, it can also shape the returning signal to appear like something else entirely.
A tank, for example, can be made to look like a car. The pictures show both the combat vehicle disappearing and reshaping itself into the outline of an automobile.
In addition to these functions the system also sends out a coded signal to friendly forces, preventing "friendly fire" incidents. When another combat vehicle spots an ADAPTIV tank, it beams back an image marked with a large X signifying a friendly fighter.
The technology is a achieved through sheets of lightweight, hexagonal metallic "pixels"that rapidly change temperature to "paint" thermal images. Each pixel operates independently and adjusts its signature with existing semi-conducting technology.
Of course, none of that will matter if this new quantum imaging system hits the field, but in the meantime this would make life in a tank much less stressful.
The BAE video is below, but I've taken the best shots and put them in the slideshow.
SEE ALSO: The quantum imaging technology that will make it impossible to hide >
The ADAPTIV plated tank is picked up via thermal image
The system activates allowing it to blend into the surrounding forest
Until it's indistinguishable from the trees
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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