DARPA, the crazy research arm of the Pentagon, is looking to make science fiction a reality. Their current goal? To create shoot-through, invisible, healable body armor.


Yeah, we're talking armor that soldiers can see and fire through on one side, but is invisible and impenetrable on the other. "Friendly forces will be able to see through it and shoot through it, but hostile forces will not. [It'll also have] the ability to 'self-heal' if necessary. The materials must be lightweight, respond instantly, and be easy to deploy and retract in confined spaces." They'll accomplish this using metamaterials, crazy compounds that I can't even begin to wrap my head around. This doesn't seem to be all that realistic at the moment, but hey, the Internet was just an insane DARPA project at one point too.

Shoot-Through, Invisible, Self-Healing Shields: Darpa Goal [Danger Room]