K. Dominic Cincotti is calling 2012 the year of camouflage and he might just be right. Camo is going to be all over the place in 2012, (just don’t hold your breath waiting for the US Army to make a decision anytime soon). However, plenty of new camouflage patterns and signature management technologies are going to become available for those in need. One of the companies at the forefront of this new emphasis is Cincotti’s company, Special Operations Apps.
In a press release, Cincotti said, “Camo, a multibillion-dollar business, will make huge gains in 2012, because it will mark a turning point in how camo is designed and made. Camouflage design has changed very little for centuries — until now, but new technologies, focused on how we design and manufacture camo, will produce a new shift in this market estimated to be in the billions.” We couldn’t agree more.
SOA has already begun to bring customized camouflage to the individual operator level with CamoScienceâ„¢ HD which combines a smartphone camera with an onboard app to produce a specialized camouflage pattern specifically for the area photographed (as seen above). The results are tuned for the environment it is produced in and can be exported for rapid, digital printing. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. SOA and their sister company MW R&D have just been issued a patent for their new Modern Warfare Camoâ„¢ technology. In fact, it’s just been featured on popsci.com.
According to SOA, “Modern Warfare Camoâ„¢ is both active and adaptive simultaneous multispectral camouflage.” US Army SF Veteran David Mullins, SOA’s team leader of subject matter experts said, “This is a truly significant patent that has been issued to MW R&D because it is a future-proofed solution we have now.” It’s a stealth camo technology that combines high-definition video imagery, a flexible thin-film display, multiple layers of sensor-blocking nanomaterials, and miniaturized thermoelectric array devices. Together, these countermeasures mimic the operating environment, producing multispectral simultaneous adaptive concealment.
Tags: Special Operations Apps
This is nothing new; the Israeli’s have been doing the “photograph an area and then turn it into camouflage” trick since the 80’s. Hell, they took it a step further by making the camouflage 3D (i.e., the shape of a rock in the area, etc).
That looks pretty weak for all of that technology.
That’s actually adaptive stealth camo on the MRAP vehicle that’s being reported on in the article, it changes visual AND in thermal signatures based on location.
Who thought we would see Predator camouflage backed up by real Science in our lifetime?
And the pics: that’s the right kind of Camo. And an example of using your environment for blending in. I don’t think limiting ourselves to one pattern (or even 4 patterns) is the final answer.
Check the Urban Camo Pattern on the guy with the rifle in the Popular Science article-thats Real Urban Camo, because it looks like the building materials and patterns we see in cities and roads. Common sense says-it’s easier to produce camo based on the location of the fight, instead of guessing where the geography of the next fight will be.
HD Photographs turned into camouflage by a Mobile Smart Device and then digitally printed directly onto a uniform.
Now that’s the Future.
And just in time for the Army announcement about issuing Smart Devices to soldiers:
http://www.armytimes.com/mobile/index.php?storyUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.armytimes.com%2Fnews%2F2011%2F12%2Farmy-expects-to-field-smartphones-next-year-122911%2F
Camouflage – Still only works when your completely still.
Billions? There are no more billions, the bankers ate them all.
Photography is the easy part. Getting the stuff printed and delivered is still the hard part.
It looks like their still camouflage could use some more R&D, both in camo theory and materials; but the tech is still promising, and in the end I still like the idea.
The multi-spectral, video-fed vehicle camouflage is really something else though. Not a new concept by any means, but if they actually have the system up and running, it beats any theoretical versions by miles.
Thank you for the interest in our new Camouflage Technologies and the January 2012 Popular Science Magazine Cover Story : The New Science of Stealth
that features our company and our two recent camouflage technologies that we have released to the public.
Soldier Systems is a great resource for us all.
These two points for further info and clarity:
Modern Warfare Camo (TM) has been issued US Patent & Trademark Office and is now a US Patent. That is an important development.
Special Operations Apps and our CamoScience(TM) Apps allow YOU
to create customized, photographic Camouflage, that can then be digitally printed directly to garments and fabrics, from the App on your mobile smart phone, or tablet.
We’re putting the power and tools of Next Gen. Camouflage Design back into the hands of Soldiers, Operators, Tip of the Spear, or those who are on the ground/on point. We think no one cares more about your Camo than you.
And we think the soldier knows more than the “experts”.
You can create your own camo, test it and send it to be printed from your mobile device. We feel that is another important development.