NASA excited by 'invisible' coat
Source: CNN.com
Kazutoshi Obana's gray, hooded coat doesn't just keep him dry in a downpour. It can also make him seem invisible.
On a clear day at Tokyo University, Obana stands outside and dons the coat. Viewed through a special projector lens, the people behind him appear as images in a fuzzy, greenish tint on his coat -- as if he were see-through.
Now Philip Moynihan, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, says the idea has broad applications in medical surgery, construction and aviation, although it remains in an "embryonic stage."
"This is a kind of augmented reality," said Susumu Tachi, a Tokyo University professor of computer science and physics, during the recent demonstration of his invention.
Tachi, who is also the founding head of the Virtual Reality Society of Japan, designed the coat using microscopic reflectors that act like a movie screen. They can even reflect images when the material is wrinkled.
