Camouflage Tech Makes Cars Look Transparent

A Japanese lab has used optical camouflage technology to make a car's backseat appear transparent to the driver. CREDIT: DigInfo News View full size image

Drivers may soon be spared the ritual of craning their necks to look out their car windows while backing up into parking spots. That's because optical camouflage technology could make the entire interior of a car look as transparent as glass.

The technology developed by Keio University in Japan uses a system of rear-facing cameras to capture the view behind a vehicle, according to a DigInfo News video. That allows it to project the video images onto the car backseat through a half mirror screen — made of a special material called a recursive reflector — with computer correcting the scale of the images to make them appear life-sized.

"The main feature of our system is, it makes things look as if you can really see through them, rather than giving an indirect view of what's behind," said Masahiko Inami, professor of media design at Keio University, in the video interview.

Many cars already feature rearview cameras that allow drivers to park or back up without turning their heads. But the Japanese system offers the advantage of image depth and making things appear where they actually are behind a vehicle in life-sized proportions.

Inami and his colleagues have already begun talking with automakers based on their early testing with the transparent backseat. They hope to eventually make the entire car appear completely transparent to both driver and riders.

Source: DigInfo News

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