Camouflage positional elements

• US 7,999,720 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2006
• Issued: 08/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Lord, Robert W., Levien, Royce A., Jung, Edward K. Y., Malamud, Mark A., Rinaldo, John D. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gregory; Bernarr E
• Application Number:
  US11/352,835
• Publication Number:
  US 20070190368A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,010 Days
• Field of Search: 342 1- 20, 342/175, 89/11.1, 89/360.1, 899/38, 2 6/9, 2 9/3, 2 9/4, 428/98, 428/141, 428/195.1, 428/196, 428/197, 428/544, 428/577, 428/583, 428/919
• US Class Current: 342/3
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 3/00 Camouflage, i.e. means or methods for concealment or disguise for vessels B63G8/34, B63G13/02 ; sound camouflage, i.e. simulating gun fire noise, F41A33/04; dummy or decoy targets F41J; chaff per se F41J2/00; ammunition for dispensing chaff F42B5/15, F42B12/70; radar absorbing fabrics H01Q17/005

Abstract

One aspect relates to camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least one positional element based at least in part on a position of the at least one positional element. Another aspect relates to configuring at least a first camouflage positional element and at least a second camouflage positional element to act as a decoy presentation, an active chaff, and/or a smart chaff. Another aspect relates to providing at least one positional element that can deceive, confuse, defeat, or lead one or more sensors towards or away from a target, such as to act as chaff, one or more flares, fog, one or more decoys, or a combination thereof. Another aspect relates to determining a suitable camouflage for at least one camouflage positional element at least partially considering a background for the at least one camouflage positional element, and affecting a presentation using the at least one camouflage positional element at least partially based on the suitable camouflage.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

[a] camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least one positional element based at least in part on a position of the at least one positional element wherein the camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least one positional element based at least in part on a position of the at least one positional element further including;

[a1] sensing a condition relating at least partially to a proximity of the object, wherein the condition includes at least one from a group including an environment, a background, or an ambient condition.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

[b] compensating for an irregular intensity of the at least one positional element by modulating, positioning, or altering the irregular intensity of the at least one positional element with respect to at least one other positional element, in which the irregular intensity at least partially results from an arranging for a distribution of a plurality of the at least one positional elements in an irregular pattern.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

[b] compensating for an irregular conformation of the at least one positional element by modulating, positioning, or altering the irregular conformation of the at least one positional element with respect to at least one other positional element at least partially by allowing or enabling at least certain ones of the at least one positional element to vary their reflectance to affect an appearance of the at least one positional element.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

[b] compensating for an irregular pattern of the at least one positional element by modulating, positioning, or altering the irregular pattern of the at least one positional element with respect to at least one other camouflage positional element at least partially by employing the position of the at least one positional element to compensate the irregular pattern.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

[b] compensating for an irregular attribute of the at least one positional element by modulating, positioning, or altering the irregular attribute of the at least one positional element with respect to at least one other camouflage positional element at least partially by employing the position of the at least one positional element to compensate the irregular attribute.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

[b] allowing at least a first one of the at least one positional element to be displaced with respect to at least a second one of the at least one positional element, wherein the at least the first one of the at least one positional element and the at least the second one of the at least one positional element is utilized to position the at least one positional element with respect to the object.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

[b] allowing at least a first one of the at least one positional element to be displaced with respect to at least a second one of the at least one positional element to affect an appearance of directed or guided motion of a conformation, wherein the at least the first one of the at least one positional element and the at least the second one of the at least one positional element is utilized to position the at least one positional element with respect to the object.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least one positional element based at least in part on a position of the at least one positional element further comprises:

[a2] obscuring the object.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least one positional element based at least in part on a position of the at least one positional element further comprises:

[a2] making the object appear that is not present.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least one positional element based at least in part on a position of the at least one positional element further comprises:

[a2] making the object appear in a different state, condition, or position than it actually is.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least one positional element based at least in part on a position of the at least one positional element further comprises:

[a2] camouflaging the object by the affecting the presentation at least partially using at least one electromagnetic emitting positional element based at least in part on the position of the at least one positional element.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least one positional element based at least in part on a position of the at least one positional element further comprises:

[a2] camouflaging the object by the affecting the presentation at least partially using at least one reflectance-based positional element based at least in part on the position of the at least one positional element.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least one positional element based at least in part on a position of the at least one positional element further comprises:

[a2] camouflaging the object by the affecting the presentation at least partially using at least one absorbance-based positional element based at least in part on the position of the at least one positional element.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least one positional element based at least in part on a position of the at least one positional element comprises:

[a2] mimicking, imitating, affecting an appearance or state of the object.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least one positional element based at least in part on a position of the at least one positional element comprises:

[a2] affecting an optical presentation.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one positional element includes at least one from a group including at least one positional camouflage element, at least one mote-based camouflage element, at least one LCD-based camouflage element, at least one LED-based camouflage element, at least one reflecting-based camouflage element, at least one absorbing-based camouflage element, or at least one plasma-based camouflage element.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

[b] arranging a plurality of the at least one positional elements in a regular array.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

[b] arranging for a distribution of a plurality of the at least one positional elements in an irregular configuration.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one positional element includes a plurality of segmented positional elements that can affect a plurality of camouflage presentations at different relative positions.

20. A method comprising:

[a] configuring at least a first camouflage positional element and at least a second camouflage positional element to act as a decoy presentation, an active chaff, a smart chaff, or a combination thereof; and

[b] controllably maintaining a presentation affected at least partially by the at least the first camouflage positional element independent of motion of the at least the first camouflage positional element.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the configuring at least a first camouflage positional element and at least a second camouflage positional element to act as a decoy presentation, an active chaff, a smart chaff, or a combination thereof further comprises:

[a1] allowing the at least the first camouflage positional element to be displaced with respect to the at least the second camouflage positional element.

22. A method, comprising:

[a] providing at least one positional element configured to deceive, confuse, defeat, or lead one or more sensors towards or away from a target, to act as chaff, one or more flares, fog, one or more decoys, or a combination thereof; and

[b] directing the at least one positional element to communicate with at least one neighbor positional element with a knowledge of a position of the at least one positional element.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the providing at least one positional element configured to deceive, confuse, defeat, or lead one or more sensors towards or away from a target, to act as chaff, one or more flares, fog, one or more decoys, or a combination thereof further comprises:

[a1] affecting an optical presentation of the at least one positional element.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the providing at least one positional element configured to deceive, confuse, defeat, or lead one or more sensors towards or away from a target, to act as chaff, one or more flares, fog, one or more decoys, or a combination thereof further comprises:

[a1] affecting an electromagnetic presentation of the at least one positional element.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the providing at least one positional element configured to deceive, confuse, defeat, or lead one or more sensors towards or away from a target, to act as chaff, one or more flares, fog, one or more decoys, or a combination thereof further comprises:

[a1] affecting a heat-based presentation of the at least one positional element.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the providing at least one positional element configured to deceive, confuse, defeat, or lead one or more sensors towards or away from a target, to act as chaff, one or more flares, fog, one or more decoys, or a combination thereof further comprises:

[a1] affecting a camouflage presentation of the at least one positional element.

27. The method of claim 22, wherein the providing at least one positional element configured to deceive, confuse, defeat, or lead one or more sensors towards or away from a target, to act as chaff, one or more flares, fog, one or more decoys, or a combination thereof further comprises:

[a1] affecting a electromagnetic reflectance or absorbance of the at least one positional element.

28. The method of claim 22, wherein the one or more sensors that are led towards or away from the target includes an electromagnetic sensor, a computer-based sensor, at least a portion of a human, or at least a portion of an animal.

29. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

[c] addressing the at least one positional element configured to derive an addressed position of the at least one positional element at least partially within the at least one positional element.

30. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

[c] allowing at least a first one of the at least one positional element to be displaced with respect to at least a second one of the at least one positional element, wherein the at least the first one of the at least one positional element and the at least the second one of the at least one positional element could be utilized in the providing the at least one positional element that can be configured to act as the chaff.

31. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

[c] directing the at least one positional element to communicate with at least one neighbor positional element with a knowledge of a position of the at least one positional element.

32. A method comprising:

[a] determining a camouflage for at least one camouflage positional element at least partially considering a background for the at least one camouflage positional element; and

[b] affecting a presentation using the at least one camouflage positional element at least partially based on the camouflage, wherein the determining a camouflage for at least one camouflage positional element at least partially considering a background for the at least one camouflage positional element further including;

[b1] determining the background of the at least one camouflage positional element that an acoustic, vibrational, heat, or biological sensor would sense or a viewer would observe.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the determining a camouflage for at least one camouflage positional element at least partially considering a background for the at least one camouflage positional element comprises:

[a1] determining an angle that a sensor or viewer would detect the at least one camouflage positional element.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the affecting a presentation using the at least one camouflage positional element at least partially based on the camouflage comprises:

[b2] controlling a light intensity produced by the at least one camouflage positional element.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein the affecting a presentation using the at least one camouflage positional element at least partially based on the camouflage comprises:

[b2] controlling a color produced by the at least one camouflage positional element.

36. An apparatus comprising:

[a] at least one camouflage positional element configured to camouflage an object at least partially by affecting a presentation based at least in part on a position of the at least one camouflage positional element, wherein the at least one camouflage positional element configured to camouflage an object at least partially by affecting a presentation based at least in part on a position of the at least one camouflage positional element includes;

[a1] the at least one camouflage positional element configured to make the object appear to have different characteristics to a sensor.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the at least one camouflage positional element configured to camouflage an object at least partially by affecting a presentation based at least in part on a position of the at least one camouflage positional element comprises:

[a2] the at least one camouflage positional element configured to camouflage the object differently at two relative angles depending at least in part on the two relative angles.

38. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the at least one camouflage positional element configured to camouflage an object at least partially by affecting a presentation based at least in part on a position of the at least one camouflage positional element comprises:

[a2] the at least one camouflage positional element configured to act as a decoy to make the object appear to be positioned in a position where the object is not positioned.

39. An apparatus comprising:

[a] at least one camouflage positional element configured to determine a camouflage at least partially considering its background; and

[b] the at least one camouflage positional element configured to affect a presentation at least partially based on the camouflage, wherein the at least one camouflage positional element configured to determine a camouflage at least partially considering its background includes;

[b1] the at least one camouflage positional element configured to determine the background differently at two relative angles depending at least in part on the two relative angles.

40. A method comprising:

[a] camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least one positional element based at least in part on a position of the at least one positional element; and

[b] compensating for an irregular intensity of the at least one positional element by modulating, positioning, or altering the irregular intensity of the at least one positional element with respect to at least one other positional element, in which the irregular intensity at least partially results from an arranging for a distribution of a plurality of the at least one positional elements in an irregular pattern.

41. A method comprising:

[a] camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least one positional element based at least in part on a position of the at least one positional element; and

[b] compensating for an irregular conformation of the at least one positional element by modulating, positioning, or altering the irregular conformation of the at least one positional element with respect to at least one other positional element at least partially by allowing or enabling at least certain ones of the at least one positional element to vary their reflectance to affect an appearance of the at least one positional element.

42. A method comprising:

[a] camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least one positional element based at least in part on a position of the at least one positional element; and

[b] compensating for an irregular pattern of the at least one positional element by modulating, positioning, or altering the irregular pattern of the at least one positional element with respect to at least one other camouflage positional element at least partially by employing the position of the at least one positional element to compensate the irregular pattern.

43. A method comprising:

[a] camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least one positional element based at least in part on a position of the at least one positional element; and

[b] compensating for an irregular attribute of the at least one positional element by modulating, positioning, or altering the irregular attribute of the at least one positional element with respect to at least one other camouflage positional element at least partially by employing the position of the at least one positional element to compensate the irregular attribute.

44. A method comprising:

[a] camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least three positional elements based at least in part on position of the at least three positional elements; and

[b] allowing at least a first one of the at least three positional elements to be displaced with respect to at least a second one of the at least three positional elements, wherein the at least the first one of the at least three positional elements and the at least the second one of the at least three positional elements are utilized to position at least another one of the at least three positional elements with respect to the object.

45. A method comprising:

[a] camouflaging an object by affecting a presentation at least partially using at least three positional elements based at least in part on position of the at least three positional elements; and

[b] allowing at least a first one of the at least three positional elements to be displaced with respect to at least a second one of the at least three positional elements to affect an appearance of directed or guided motion of a conformation, wherein the at least the first one of the at least three positional elements and the at least the second one of the at least three positional elements are utilized to position the at least three positional elements with respect to the object.

46. A method comprising:

[a] determining a camouflage for at least one camouflage positional element at least partially considering a background for the at least one camouflage positional element; and

[b] affecting a presentation using the at least one camouflage positional element at least partially based on the camouflage, wherein the determining a camouflage for at least one camouflage positional element at least partially considering a background for the at least one camouflage positional element further including;

[b1] determining an angle that a sensor or viewer would detect the at least one camouflage positional element.

47. A method comprising:

[a] determining a camouflage for at least one camouflage positional element at least partially considering a background for the at least one camouflage positional element; and

[b] affecting a presentation using the at least one camouflage positional element at least partially based on the camouflage, wherein the affecting a presentation using the at least one camouflage positional element at least partially based on the camouflage further including;

[b1] controlling a light intensity produced by the at least one camouflage positional element.

48. An apparatus comprising:

[a] at least one camouflage positional element configured to camouflage an object at least partially by affecting a presentation based at least in part on a position of the at least one camouflage positional element, wherein the at least one camouflage positional element configured to camouflage an object at least partially by affecting a presentation based at least in part on a position of the at least one camouflage positional element includes;

[a1] the at least one camouflage positional element configured to camouflage the object differently at two relative angles depending at least in part on the two relative angles.