China creates a real Harry Potter camouflage cloak that protects the wearer from surveillance cameras and can fool AI

CHINESE university students have developed a high-tech cloak that allows the wearer to be “invisible” by astounding surveillance cameras.

Special camouflage means the wearer is not recognized as a human by artificial intelligence and has the potential to transform the modern battlefield.

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A team from the University of Wuhan has developed InvisDefense to enable people to stealthily evade surveillance camera systems controlled by artificial intelligence.

Unlike Harry Potter, there is no magic behind the invisibility.

It looks like a normal cloak to the human eye, but advanced algorithms generate patterns that camouflage the wearer from the eagle eyes of the machines.

During the day the patterns work to blind AI cameras, while at night the cloak emits thermal signals to confuse infrared cameras.

The breakthrough coating also has the potential to obscure some detection systems in self-driving cars.

However, it would not fool surveillance camera operators or human drivers.

Professor Wang Zheng, who supervised the project, to the South China Morning Post: “Today, many surveillance devices can detect human bodies.

“Cameras on the road have pedestrian detection capabilities, and smart cars can detect pedestrians, roads, and obstacles.

“Our invisdefense allows the camera to see you, but it can’t tell if you’re human.”

It’s the first of its kind to avoid public pedestrian detection, and it took the team over 700 mistakes to get it just right.

It then took first place in a Huawei technology competition and will be presented at the AAAI 2023 AI Conference in the US in February.

The dream coat, in all its technical beauty, would also be cheap.

Wei Hui, the mastermind PhD student behind the mantle’s crazy algorithm, has estimated that each one would cost just 500 yuan (£59).

However, its true appeal lies in the fact that the coat stands out from the crowd in its industry by blending in harmoniously.

“Traditionally, researchers used bright images to disrupt computer vision, and it worked…but it catches the human eye and makes the user even more noticeable,” Wei Hui explained.

“We use algorithms to design the least conspicuous patterns that can impair computer vision.”

For military purposes, the “cloak of invisibility” is of enormous importance.

If the cloak’s technology were used in uniforms, soldiers could theoretically avoid detection by drones or AI-controlled units – which would transform the modern battlefield.

Researchers may also be able to use the Wuhan team’s new creation to fix existing loopholes and flaws in AI and detection technologies.