Chinese students create invisibility cloak to evade security cameras
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Beijing: Students at Wuhan University have developed an invisibility cloak that can hide the human body from AI-monitored security cameras. The product is called 'InvisDefense Coat' and it can be seen through human eyes but cameras won't be able to register it.
The coat is covered in a pattern that can blind cameras during the day. It also has a heat-generating element that can trick infrared cameras at night, reported the South China Morning Post.
Professor Wang Zheng of the school of computer science at Wuhan University said cameras will still be capturing the person wearing InvisDefense but they cannot recognise the figure as human. The camouflage pattern on its surface interferes with the algorithm of the AI and blinds the machine.
"The most difficult part is the balance of the camouflage pattern. Traditionally, researchers used bright images to interfere with machine vision and it did work. But it stands out to human eyes, making the user even more conspicuous," said Wei Hui, the student who developed the core algorithm. He added that it can be used in anti-drone combat or human-machine confrontation on the battlefield.
The product costs less than $70.
Scientists at the University of Maryland last month developed a similar product, a colourful sweater that hides you from common object detectors like cameras. Developers were trying to test machine learning systems for vulnerabilities. But ended up creating a print that AI cameras cannot see. However, it only has a 50% success rate in the wearable test.