British defense company BAE Systems promises that in five years it will change the face of ground military equipment. Mostly we are talking about tanks. The armored vehicle will be dressed in a new camouflage that can change its appearance depending on the environment. The ambitious project is called E-camouflage, and, surprising as it sounds, it will be based on developments related to electronic ink.
It should be noted that the creation of masking surfaces with maximum mimicry is the dream of the military of different countries. In particular, the US Department of Defense recently allocated a $ 6 million grant so that in four years time camouflage that changes color quickly and effectively will appear. As a guide, the skill in the field of camouflaging such animals as octopus, squid and cuttlefish will be taken. American scientists pin their main hopes in the search for appropriate materials on nanostructures.
As for the British researchers from BAE Systems, they have already decided on their choice and want to equip the tanks with an active system using electronic ink.
Recall that the technology of electronic ink itself was developed in the 90s of the last century and on the eve of 2000 was introduced to the consumer market, introduced into devices for reading e-books. Until now, there have been no revolutionary changes in the technology itself, and the screens remained in black and white. However, the color e-paper reader was already announced last November by the Chinese company Hanvon Technology.
Iriver product manager Ekaterina Gavrilina told RBC daily that displays with electronic ink are created on a matrix on which microscopic transparent capsules are applied in a thin layer. The capsules contain charged particles with white and black pigments (when exposed to electricity, particles with a corresponding plus or minus charge are attracted or repelled). With this effect, you can achieve very high resolution and clarity. There are only two colors so far: black and white.
According to Ms Gavrilina, electronic ink is very stable and ergonomic. Accordingly, it is not surprising that the British defense industry sees this as important qualities that will allow camouflage to project a camouflage "picture" onto a tank with a minimum expenditure of energy, even in difficult combat conditions.
An experimental E-camouflage prototype for the British Army is expected by 2013. Each tank with a new type of camouflage will be equipped with sensors to analyze the surrounding terrain. The sensor technology will allow detecting and transmitting data about the external environment to an electronic ink matrix covering the tank's armor. The latter will literally reproduce the external environment on the armor, and the tank will, as it were, merge with the landscape around it.
The most important thing is that E-camouflage will track changes in the environment and adapt to them, that is, when moving from one natural zone to another, the tank will change its color. The newest system may go into service with the British troops in Afghanistan.
