Invisibility’ tech builds safer antenna for IDF

Off in the future, IDF soldiers may get the ultimate battlefield armor - a Harry Potter-style "invisibility cloak" that could let them cross a battlefield right under the noses of their enemies - without being detected. In the meantime, the goals for using technology like that are a bit lower - but still important.

Until those cloaks are ready for action, Professor Michael Bank of the Jerusalem College of Technology is using the "metamaterials" that could be used to build those invisible uniforms to protect soldiers in the field from electromagnetic radiation emitted by communications equipment. "It's true that metamaterials can be used for invisibility cloaks, and that's a project we may work on one day," Bank told The Times of Israel. "But for now, we are using it to keep radiation away from soldiers' heads and upper body."

Bank is one of Israel's senior experts on communications and electricity, and the radiation that results from both. An immigrant from Russia, Bank has numerous patents to his name, including one that allows electricity to flow through a single wire instead of the two that are generally needed, saving as much as 50% in power use and cost.

Bank also has done innovative work in the area of antennas - and it's those innovations that he is supplying to the IDF to help protect soldiers from radiation. "Units in the field always have at least one soldier who is required to carry a large communications unit, and they usually carry them on their shoulders or back, right next to their head," said Bank. "The systems have large transmitters and emit a large amount of electromagnetic radiation, which many scientists believe are the cause of diseases such as cancer. We designed a new antenna that keeps the radiation away from the heads of soldiers, without compromising the range or performance of the transmitter."

To view the full piece of the Times of Israel website click here