a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an orthogonal projection concealment apparatus whereby automatic means of sensing observer position and distance, background distance, and guidance, continuous digital image capturing means, and algorithmic computational programming means combine to generate an orthogonal projection gray-scale image through an array of pixel display elements. More particularly this invention relates to an active concealment apparatus projecting an orthogonal background image on surfaces of a mobile platform, and blending the mobile platform into its background for a near distant observer under most lighting conditions.
b) Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art of mobile platform concealment, stationary vehicles were concealed with paint, netting, and vegetation, while moving vehicles were concealed with smoke. Smoke is an overt concealment rather than a covert concealment mechanism.
In the prior art of mobile platform concealment, lights mounted on an aircraft have been used to mask the dark area within a bright sky that betrays the presence of a flying plane. Under a Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) program known as "Active Camouflage", a small powered drone was fitted with fluorescent lamps to make the aircraft harder to spot.
A similar approach was undertaken at Groom Lake Air Force Base in Nevada. The use of electrochromic materials coupled with photosensitive receptors and an onboard computer allows for adjusting the brightness, hue, and texture of an airplane surface to match the sky above or the terrain below it.
These two aircraft concealment efforts are covert. The Groom AFB test was responsive to changing background but the response result was a change in the entire surface of the aircraft to deceive an observer either above or below. Near distance covert concealment of a moving vehicle requires more control of the surface detail.