March 30,
2008: Aircraft, armored vehicles, and even ships are now using the new
"fractal" camouflage patterns that proven so popular, and useful for ground
troops. Also called "digital camouflage", this technique uses "pixels" (little square or round spots
of color, like you will find on your computer monitor if you look very
closely), instead of just splotches of different colors. Naturally, this was
called "digital camouflage" when it was first invented three decades ago. This
pattern proved considerably more effective at hiding troops than older methods.
For example, in tests, it was found that soldiers wearing digital pattern
uniforms were 50 percent more likely to escape detection by other troops. What
made the digital pattern work was the way the human brain processed
information. The small "pixels" of color on the cloth makes the human brain see
vegetation and terrain, not people. One could provide a more technical
explanation, but the "brain processing" one pretty much says it all.
Many
nations are trying digital patterns on vehicles (aircraft, tanks and ships) in
the belief that the same "visual disruption" effect will be present. There has
not been a lot of research in this area yet, but that is not stopping a lot of
vehicles adopting the new paint scheme.
