University of Toronto researchers develop radio invisibility shield

By surrounding an object with small antennas that collectively radiate an electromagnetic flied, a team of researchers have developed a functional invisibility cloak that is thin, scalable and adaptive to different types of objects.

The system does not make its user invisible to the naked eye, but by covering an object in tiny antennas that cancel out radio waves bouncing off the object, the system creates a field around the object that is invisible to radar.

Beyond obvious useful applications in the military, such as hiding vehicles from radar, the researchers say the technology could also be used to eliminate obstacles. Structures that interfere with signals from cellular base stations, for example, could be cloaked by the antenna system, allowing signals to pass freely.