The Israeli government has partnered with a defense contractor to invent a new material that can hide soldiers from infrared sensors, making them harder to detect.
The Polaris Defense Kit 300 is a “thermal imaging concealment” system that combines “metals, fibers, and polymers” to mask a soldier’s body heat, according to Business Insider.
Thermal imaging technology creates a visual image of an object through invisible infrared rays (“thermal radiation”) emitted by the object. If that object emits heat, a thermal camera will display an image of it, with different colors indicating relative heat levels.
For example, a warm-blooded human would appear as a colored human-shaped spot, with the level of detail depending on the sensitivity of the sensor. A tank would show up as a tank-shaped object, and if the engine of the tank is running, the engine would appear as a “hot” spot.
Thermal cameras are used for modern night vision devices. Unlike older night vision technology, which requires some light sources, thermal cameras do not need any surrounding light at all. They only require a detectable level of heat to function.
This means that thermal cameras can detect people, armored vehicles, and even aircraft on moonless nights without needing infrared floodlights. They can also detect heat through smoke, making thermal cameras useful even in daylight conditions. During the Cold War, American tanks could easily detect and engage enemy tanks moving through smoke.
However, this technology is not perfect. Objects that do not emit heat do not show up on thermal cameras at all. The Kit 300 system is designed to eliminate the presence of thermal signatures on soldiers, thereby making soldiers “invisible” to thermal cameras.
The materials in the Kit 300 system can act as insulators, preventing the soldier’s heat from escaping through the covering.
The Kit 300 does not stop there. A soldier can stand in the middle of a barren field that thermal cameras cannot see, but can still be clearly visible to the naked eye. Thus, this system helps soldiers be harder to detect in the visible light spectrum by using classic colors and camouflage techniques designed to allow the wearer to blend in with the surrounding terrain.
Source: Popularmechanic