Let’s face it; advances in technology never fail to grab our attention. While such advances can sometimes lead to concern, the can also amaze.

Perhaps you’ve seen recent articles in the news, and appearing in science blogs concerning invisibility cloaks. Come on, being invisible? That’s the makings of a 1980′s or 1990′s sci-fi movie. Admittedly, the blockbuster “Invisible Man” did reignite the dream, but most of us never for a minute imagined that it would one day become a reality. No, you can’t go into your favorite gizmo shop to buy an invisibility cloak – well, not just yet, but the writing is on the wall. Sure, it may still be many years before we see invisibility cloaks being used in everyday life, but scientists have already shown that the concept is feasible.

In fact, scientists at the University of Tokyo recently produced a cloak made from meta-materials which proved beyond all doubt that invisibility cloaks can in fact become a reality in the feature. For now, we’ll just have to wait patiently, considering their cloak measured a mere ten micrometer.

While this approach may still take many years to perfect, other agencies and bodies around the world, are looking at alternatives to achieve the elusive “invisibility” factor, and contrary to what many believe, they are in fact making progress. Perhaps you’ve heard about active camouflage, also sometimes referred to as adaptive camouflage?

This is essentially a group of technologies, and while they don’t render an object 100% invisible, they certainly do make the object extremely difficult to see. Is this also just another pipe dream? Definitely not! In fact, rumor has it that the technology is already being used with Boeing’s “Bird of Prey”. Is it just rumor, or is there any truth in it? In my opinion, I believe there is a great deal of truth in it, which is why it’s been classified as a black project, meaning that details and information are restricted, and not available to the general public.