How to disappear, partially

Those who have seen the latest James Bond will recall the invisible car, enabled by cameras that photograph its surroundings and project them onto its exterior. Just so happens that researchers at the University of Tokyo are developing something very similar and getting it to (partially) work in, for example, an "invisible coat". Check out the MPEGs on the U of Tokyo site for more illustrations of what they're up to. The limitation at the moment is apparently that one must view the coat, or whatever object the images are being projected on, through the lens of the projector; the technology has yet to reach the stage where it will fool the naked eye. However, one would think that when the film-type displays currently being developed go into full production, dispensing with the projector and having the garment itself display the image might be possible.

Incidentally, the Tokyo University research is aimed at medical applications, enabling a surgeon to "see" the location of a tumour before making an incision, for example--some examples of this are shown on their site. One suspects, however, that military funding for this sort of technology could come through fairly promptly if the invisibility end of things can really be made to work properly.

This article from the Miami Herald gives an overview, with some additional material on US research into using this technology for camouflage (the research has apparently been abandoned, though conspiracy theorists may see that as a smokescreen).