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War should be heard not seen
- October 31, 2007 4:04 PM |
- By Pete Nowak
By Peter Nowak, CBCNews.ca
Continuing with the science-fiction theme of the week... the British military is on the verge of becoming the real-world equivalent of Star Trek's Romulans by introducing cloaking devices on their tanks. The vehicles use cameras and projectors to display background scenery on their armour, making them blend in with their surroundings.
The army predicted an invisible tank would be in service by 2012. Moreover, the military forces in Britain and the United States are also believed to be testing the technology on jackets, which would lead to uniforms that turn soliders invisible.
The potential applications here are mind-boggling. What would invisible warfare be like? And what sort of consumer uses could there be?
About the Authors
- Tara Kimura
is a multimedia producer for CBCNews.ca.
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Comments (5)
Invisible soldiers, eh? How fast can you say "police state made easy"? But we can't stop technology now. Better everyone than everyone else.
Nick,
The liklihood or not of a society becoming a police state has little to do with the technology available to the government. Stalin and Mao had plain old paper and pencil spies and police.
Its really a question of will. The government has to want a police state and be willing to use terror to get it. For their part, the people, who include the soldiers and cops needed to enforce oppression, have to at least passively accept totalitarian rule, though it takes pretty exceptional courage to stand with the opposition.
Thankfully, those who would welcome a dictatorship are a loony fringe in western democracies. They wouldn't get far.
I think people often blame the type of government over the actual person in charge, which is completely wrong to do. That's another story.
I think he meant more of a 1984 thought police kind of case, where you could be watched at any moment.
How do they cloak the Projector?
Jim, I would imagine that it's not just one huge projector following the equipment around, they would use projectors the similar size of the cameras, one at various spots of the vehicle/person.
I wonder if they would have to pay Q for inventing this? Wheres Bond when you need him?