British company claims its new invisibility shield is getting closer to a real-life Harry Potter cloak
A British firm says its latest technology could hide people and objects from view, with one giant shield costing almost £600.
A British company claims it is getting closer to creating a real-life invisibility cloak worthy of Harry Potter.
London-based Invisibility Shield Co. has unveiled a new range of portable shields which it says can make people and objects disappear from view.
The firm says its latest technology uses precision-engineered lens arrays to redirect and diffuse light reflected from whatever is positioned behind the shield.
And according to founder Tristan Thompson, the technology is edging closer to the magical cloak made famous by the Harry Potter films and books.
“In terms of use cases for the new invisibility material, we are getting closer to the type of invisibility cloak featured in Harry Potter,” Tristan said.
“It’s not truly flexible in the way a fabric is yet, but it’s getting close.”
The company claims sheets of the material can already be joined together and wrapped around a person or object to conceal them from view.
Thompson also suggested there could be some more serious uses for the technology, saying: “There are potential military applications as you can imagine.”
But it’s not just people who could be hidden.
The company says the material can be supplied with an adhesive backing, allowing it to be attached to windows or room dividers and turned into instant privacy or “invisibility” screens.
It also claims the material can be tiled indefinitely, potentially allowing enormous objects to be concealed.
The company says it has already received interest in using the technology to hide unsightly structures such as cellphone towers from the landscape and is conducting preliminary tests.
The new range includes shields in several sizes, including a huge 180cm by 120cm “Megashield”, which the company describes as the largest commercially available invisibility shield.
Prices start at £49 for the 12-inch Mini shield, while the Megashield is available to pre-order for £599.
Thompson said the latest generation is designed to give customers more flexibility when attempting to conceal objects.
“This generation is about allowing people to flexibly cloak whatever they wish,” he said.
The company is also working to make the effect “bigger, clearer, and more durable” — although anyone hoping to throw a cloak over themselves and vanish completely will have to wait a little longer.