--- title: "Startup Says It’s Created an Actual “Invisibility Shield”" description: "A British startup claims to have created a real \"invisibility shield\" that doesn't even need power to operate." date: "2022-03-22" modified: "2022-03-22" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/startup-invisibility-shield" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "invisibility" - "the digest" --- # Startup Says It’s Created an Actual “Invisibility Shield” ![A British startup claims to have created a real "invisibility shield" that doesn't even need power to operate.]() *\Image: Invisibility Shield Co\* ## Invisibility Shield A British startup claims to have created a real world "invisibility shield" that doesn't even need power to operate. Think of it as Harry Potter's invisibility cloak, but in the shape of a flat piece of cardboard that turns anything behind it into an indiscernible smudge. The company, evocatively called Invisibility Shield Co, is now looking to finance its invention [on Kickstarter](), where it has generated over $88,000 so far, out of an initial goal of just $6,500. For just shy of $400, you can get your very own full size invisibility shield, which measures over three by two feet. While it isn't exactly the "Predator"-style invisibility tech from the future, it's a fun demonstration of a clever optical trick. https://youtu.be/2butkT8vb-E ## Light Night The technology behind it is remarkably simple. The shield deflects light around the subject using a "precision engineered lens array," according to the company's Kickstarter page. In other words, it's a clever trick that reflects light in a horizontal direction so much so that the subject hiding right behind the shield is almost completely obscured. The science behind the invention isn't perfect. The shield can't perfectly replicate the scene behind the subject, but rather recreates it as a hazy, blurred out representation. "The shields perform at their absolute best against uniform backgrounds such as foliage, grass, rendered walls, sand, sky and asphalt," the Kickstarter page reads. "Backgrounds with defined horizontal lines work really well too and these can be natural features such as the horizon or man made features like walls, rails or painted lines." While the shields aren't exactly science fiction come to life, they're a fun piece of engineering that could give you a serious edge in your next game of Hide and Seek. **More on invisibility:** *[New Tech Makes Objects Invisible by Shining Light Straight Through Them]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()