Adaptive Camouflage for Moving Objects

Abstract

Abstract Targets that are well camouflaged under static conditions are often easily detected as soon as they start moving. We investigated and evaluated ways to design camouflage that dynamically adapts to the background and conceals the target while taking the variation in potential viewing directions into account. In a human observer experiment, recorded imagery was used to simulate moving (either walking or running) and static soldiers, equipped with different types of camouflage patterns and viewed from different directions. Participants were instructed to detect the soldier and to make a rapid response as soon as they have identified the soldier. Mean target detection rate was compared between soldiers in standard (Netherlands) Woodland uniform, in static camouflage (adapted to the local background) and in dynamically adapting camouflage. We investigated the effects of background type and variability on detection performance by varying the soldiers’ environment (such as bushland and urban). In general, detection was easier for dynamic soldiers compared to static soldiers, confirming that motion breaks camouflage. Interestingly, we show that motion onset and not motion itself is an important feature for capturing attention. Furthermore, camouflage performance of the static adaptive pattern was generally much better than for the standard Woodland pattern. Also, camouflage performance was found to be dependent on the background and the local structures around the soldier. Interestingly, our dynamic camouflage design outperformed a method which simply displays the ‘exact’ background on the camouflage suit (as if it was transparent), since it is better capable of taking the variability in viewing directions into account. By combining new adaptive camouflage technologies with dynamic adaptive camouflage designs such as the one presented here, it may become feasible to prevent detection of moving targets in the (near) future.