For years, researchers have tried but failed to develop technology that would render objects truly invisible. What they have managed to do, though, is come up with methods to create the optical illusion of invisibility.

There’s no such thing as an invisibility cloak just yet (or is there?), but South Korea is skipping a few steps and is aiming to build the world’s first “invisible” tower. Their government has just approved the plans to construct the building near the Incheon International Airport. Yes, near the airport, where planes will be landing and taking off on a daily basis. It doesn’t seem like the best location for a building that is supposedly invisible, does it?

The building was designed by GDS Architects of Pasadena, California. The illusion of invisibility is achieved by using cameras to capture real-time images behind the building, which are then streamed onto the front of the building using a wall of LEDs.

Through digital processing, images will be scaled, rotated and merged to create a seamless panoramic image that appears on the LED rows to create the illusion of invisibility. In essence, whatever is going on behind the building will be projected onto the front of the building.

VIA [ Geekologie ]