An older warfare technique might have some startling modern applications: researchers at the University of Bristol have found that vehicles painted with high contrast geometric patterns alter the perception of speed and may cause attackers to miss their target. During both World Wars, warships were painted with geometric patterns in order to confuse enemies’ perceptions of range, speed, size, and other characteristics in order to prevent torpedo attacks. The effectiveness of such techniques, however, was never empirically proven until recently.
What researchers found, after testing a variety of patterns at various speeds, was that zigzag and checker patterns moving at high speeds caused a reduction in perceived speed around 7 percent. This misperception caused by dazzle camouflage could make the difference between life and death during battle. For example, an insurgent with an RPG may miscalculate the speed of a Jeep and fail to hit it.
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0020233
(Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons via Wikipedia article on Dazzle Camouflage, which is in the public domain)
Written by: Justin Saranovic
Written by: Justin Saranovic
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