Wireless and electromagnetic product supplier Fractal Antenna Systems recently announced that it has successfully completed a device capable of diverting electromagnetic radiation, similar to the “deflector shield” concept referenced in science fiction. The device is a variation of the company’s invisibility cloak technology patented in August 2012.
According to Fractal Antenna Systems CEO Nathan Cohen, the deflector shield was constructed as a snug vest, comprised of an inner copper layer with fractal-shaped metamaterials conforming around it. Cohen explains that “a deflector shield uses cloak technology not to hide an object but to pass radiation around it.” He adds that in the case of a deflector shield, power is deflected safety to the other side with virtually no alteration of the object due to radiation pressure, unlike an absorber. During the testing phase, the vest was worn by a member of the research team and successfully diverted 90 percent of the electromagnetic power from microwaves around the subject.
