Most people who grew up reading the Harry Potter book series dream of owning their own invisibility cloak.
Now that dream can become a reality, as scientists have developed an “invisibility mega shield.”
The £699 shield uses a precision-engineered lens array to bend light, making objects behind it almost invisible.
And unlike Harry Potter’s cloak, the mega shield is large enough to hide multiple people standing next to each other.
‘Experience the power of invisibility? We’ve got you covered,” the Invisibility Shield Co. said.
The £699 shield uses a precision-engineered lens array to bend light, making objects behind it almost invisible
Most people who grew up reading the Harry Potter book series dream of owning their own invisibility cloak
The megashield is the brainchild of London-based Invisibility Shield Co, which came up with the original idea in 2022.
Since then, the company has developed and tested several cloaking devices before settling on the latest design.
The mega shield is 1.80 meters high and 1.20 meters wide and is made of high-quality polycarbonate.
Using a precisely designed lens array, light reflected from the person standing behind the shield is directed away from the person in front of it.
“The lenses in this array are oriented so that the vertical strip of light reflected from the standing/crouching subject becomes diffuse when spread horizontally as it passes through the back of the shield,” Invisibility Shield Co explained on its Kickstarter page.
The megashield is the brainchild of London-based Invisibility Shield Co, which came up with the original idea in 2022. Since then, the company has developed and tested several cloaking devices before settling on the latest design.
According to the team, the shields are most effective against uniform backgrounds, including grass, foliage, sand and sky
‘In contrast, the band of light reflected from the background is much wider, so when it passes through the back of the shield, much more of it is refracted, both across the shield and towards the observer.
‘From the observer’s perspective, this backlight is effectively spread horizontally across the front of the shield, over the area where the subject would normally be seen.’
According to the team, the shields are most effective against uniform backgrounds, including grass, foliage, sand and sky.
‘Backgrounds with defined horizontal lines also work extremely well and these can be natural features such as the horizon, or man-made features such as walls, rails or painted lines,” she added.
Using a precisely designed lens array, light reflected from the person standing behind the shield is directed away from the person in front
The company is now crowdfunding on Kickstarter, where you can buy the Megashield for the early bird price of £699
An earlier version of the shield was released in 2022, but was only large enough for one crouching person.
Additionally, users were forced to hold the shield up themselves.
“Our new shields have been completely redesigned to be more stable when freestanding, easy to hold, and easy to take with you wherever you go,” the Invisibility Shield Co. said.
‘New ergonomic handles make holding and carrying the shield much more comfortable, while keeping your body in the optimal position for concealment.’
The company is now engaged in crowdfunding Kickstarterwhere you can buy the Megashield for the early bird price of £699.