That microcontroller then controls the voltage passed through each panel on the jacket at a different rate, depending on the pattern the wearer is trying to attain. Of course, each panel needs to be programmed and passed to a microcontroller set within the jacket. Graphene’s near-unparalleled conductivity allows it to control the optics of any garment covered in it by applying voltage across it. That converts the graphene-an absorbing material-into a reflective material when it comes to infrared thermal radiation. “We basically control the electron on the graphene,” says Kocabas. A voltage is passed through the layers by a computer program that charges the ions within a liquid that sits between more than 100 layers of graphene that accumulate electrons. “We have a multilayer graphene coating on the surface, and we intercollate ions between the graphene layers, similar to a lithium-ion battery,” says Kocabas. The jacket-made up of 42 panels of graphene around 5 centimeters square that are attached to the outside of a jacket-is controlled by the electron density of the material. “That’s the unique material that enables us to create these tunable optical surfaces,” says Kocabas. Unlike the physically impossible approach discounted in 2016, this technology is based on graphene layers.

“I underestimated the material challenges,” says Kocabas, “and the challenges of working with textiles.” Three years on, Vollebak and Kocabas are finally ready to unveil their thermal camouflage jacket. It took a little longer than that to develop a first prototype.

Invisible cloak cloth us military