Active camouflage
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- "One of those things is inside, and it is invisible!'"
- — Cadet Thomas Lasky[1]
Active camouflage, often shortened as active camo or av-cam,[2] refers to a broad range of optical camouflage technologies that conceal its user or an object from visual perception by rapidly adapting to its surroundings.[3][4] Although active camouflage originated from the Covenant—also inherited and adopted by its remnants—similar technology was employed by the United Nations Space Command, with personal active camouflage being directly reverse-engineered from its Covenant counterpart.[3]
Overview[edit]
- "Trust me, because I heard... uhhh... from a friend, that if you have active camouflage on and do a cries, it makes a big sizzle sound and everybody can see me hidin' in the corner."
- — Dimkee Hotay shares his bad experience with active camo.[5]
Covenant active camouflage conceals by bending and refracting light around the surface of the camouflaged object,[2][4][6][7][8] masking its presence through advanced pattern realignment.[9] The camouflage effect only reduces chances of visual detection; those using active camouflage can be observed by other means, including the motion tracker,[2] noise,[1][5] and environmental disturbances such as dust or footprints on soft terrain.[10][11]
In addition to having reverse-engineered the Covenant active camouflage, the UNSC has developed several pieces of adjacent technology. One notable form of human-developed active camouflage operates on a different principle than the Covenant counterpart, using photoreactive panels to impersonate the surrounding environment like a chameleon. The UNSC uses photoreactive panels on its Semi-Powered Infiltration armor for optical camouflage, adapting to the object's background to account for movement.[12] They conceal the wearer's infrared signature and to blend in with the surrounding environment.[13] When combined with a Spartan-III's natural talent and training for stealth, it can be a very effective tool.[14]
Development history[edit]
- Silent Shadow operative: "If we were to meet in battle as warriors—true warriors, you would fall, just as so many of your kind have fallen—to our swords and fire; under the weight of our boots. But you—you are not warriors. You are assassins. Weak and timid, you hide in the shadows—"
- Jonah-B283: "Says the alien shit-heel who invented active camo."
- — A Silent Shadow Sangheili and Jonah-B283 during the Battle of Rangiren.[2]
Even before they pooled their knowledge of sensor masking and optical camouflage techniques with the establishment of the Writ of Union in 852 BCE, the Sangheili and the San'Shyuum experimented with various active camouflage systems. Modern active camouflage devices incorporated some reverse-engineered Forerunner technology, with Covenant devices utilizing a distinct branch of "baffler" systems from the Forerunners.[7][15] Whereas the Covenan't conventional active camouflage technology was reverse-engineered from Forerunner technology by the Huragok, the Jiralhanae developed the Cloaking module which similarly conceal its user by bending light rays around their position.[16][17]
Acquired early on during the Human-Covenant War,[9] the T-3 Refraction Dissonance Modifier/Camouflage module was deemed an essential piece of Covenant technology; thus, it was extensively researched by the Office of Naval Intelligence.[7] Although it was officially reported that all UNSC efforts to prototype a working active camouflage unit had been met with failure,[2] ONI's research eventually produced multiple reverse-engineered modules,[2