---
title: "Toyota Just Patented a “Cloaking Device”"
description: "Toyota is developing a device that would allow objects to turn invisible, or at least transparent."
date: "2017-08-16"
modified: "2017-08-16"
authors:
  - name: "Dom Galeon"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/domgaleon"
url: "https://futurism.com/toyota-just-patented-a-cloaking-device"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "cloaking device"
  - "invisibility"
  - "toyota"
---

# Toyota Just Patented a “Cloaking Device”

![cloaking device](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/drive-863057.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://pixabay.com/en/drive-taxi-cab-roadtrip-rain-863057/" target="\_blank"\>Pixabay\</a\>\</em\>*

## For Better (In)Visibility

From cloaking devices that conceal spaceships, to Harry Potter's hand-me-down disappearing blanket, or even the One Ring and its power to conceal its wearer, invisibility is a staple in science fiction and fiction in general. Scientists have been hard at work, however, to bring such a technology into reality. Joining the research and development of cloaking technology is Japanese car manufacturer Toyota.

The company recently acquired a patent from the [United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ](<https://www.uspto.gov/>)for "Apparatuses and methods for making an object appear transparent," which Toyota filed last June 17. Seems exciting, especially since it's a car maker working on an invisibility tech or cloaking device. It actually is interesting, but not because it's meant to turn Toyota's cars invisible — well, at least not all of them.

The patent describes a cloaking device designed to turn vehicles' A-pillars to the left and right of the car's dashboard invisible, improving road visibility for the driver. Seems ironic that a cloaking technology would improve visibility, right? Toyota thinks that it's the way to go, especially since A-pillars have become rather large following crash-safety standards. The wider they are, the more they end up obscuring a driver's vision.

![Image credit: USPTO](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/toyota-patent.png>)
*Image credit: USPTO*

## Different Shades of Cloaking

According to Toyota, such a technology is already possible — [like the Rochester Cloak](<https://futurism.com/this-real-life-inivisibility-cloak-is-getting-an-upgrade>) — but it would require video cameras and other expensive equipment for it to work in cars. This cloaking device, on the other hand, would be a less expensive solution. It would use mirrors to bend visible light around the A-pillars to allow the driver to "see" through them. This would give drivers a wider view of the road and their surroundings. It also benefits pedestrians, as drivers would see them better.

"Light from an object on an object-side of the cloaking device \[i.e., facing the road\] is directed around an article \[the A-pillars\] \]within the cloaking region and forms an image on an image-side of the cloaking device \[i.e., facing the driver's seat\] such the article appears transparent to an observer looking towards the object,"[ according to a description of the device](<http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20170227781.pdf>) in the patent.

https://youtu.be/sN70Bgm_PAQ

Making things "invisible" is all about [manipulating light](<https://futurism.com/researchers-discover-the-limits-of-cloaking-technology>). The other invisibility technologies [currently being developed](<https://futurism.com/progress-in-invisibility-cloak-technology-brings-it-closer-to-reality>) do the same thing, albeit using different methods or materials. For instance, researchers from the Max Planck Institute are working on [mimicking the biology of moths' eyes](<https://futurism.com/moths-eyes-have-led-to-new-invisibility-tech>) to turn lenses and glass invisible. Meanwhile, a group from the University of California, San Diego is controlling how light reflects on objects using[ a thin "carpet cloak" made form Teflon and ceramic particles](<https://futurism.com/just-moved-one-step-closer-working-invisibility-cloak>).

All of these studies bring us closer to a working invisibility cloak, or at least a technology which allows us to see through objects by making them bend light — like Toyota's device. We will have to wait and see.

### Author social links  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-john-galeon-9b086925/>)  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/domgaleon>)