Adam Harvey made a drone-proof burqa. The New York-based artist, in collaboration with New York designer Johanna Bloomfield, created a line called Stealth Wear that offers garments created from nickel-metalized fabric designed to thwart IR-detection by thermal cameras, including drone surveillance.
Harvey’s background is in mechanical engineering, as well as digital art. His previous work focused on the space where privacy protection and art overlap. His project CV Dazzle delved into makeup and hairstyle patterns that can trick the facial recognition software used for surveillance. Camoflash, his anti-paparazzi handbag contains a LED light capable of obscuring one’s face during unwanted attention from photographers.
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The garments in the current collection, beyond the augmented burqa, include a scarf modeled on headscarves traditionally used for hijab, a hoodie, and a T-shirt with X-Ray attenuating material across the heart. None of the garments would totally protect the wearer from detection because creating a garment truly capable of obscuring your IR signature requires International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) compliance—a totally drone-proof getup is still too militaristic for civilians.
