An invisibility gadget is being created to allow our hero soldiers to hide from enemy infrared cameras.
Scientists claim the technology can also be used on vehicles.
The invention – compared to Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak – uses carbon-based graphene ink.
The paint conducts heat and when put on fabric can “manipulate its reflectiveness” to camouflage them.
Academics at Sussex University said: “With further development, a soldier’s thermal signature could be totally camouflaged to keep them safe from detection at night or from thermal imaging.
“The same technology can work on hard surfaces too such as windows.”
(Image: GETTY)
It can also cool rooms and change the amount of light in a space “with the touch of a button”.
Private company Advanced Material Development has invested £1million in the research.
The Sussex team is working with a major UK retailer to use the tech to replace metal tags on items of clothing to make them more eco-friendly.
And a German car company wants the experts to develop an ink to print on tyres to reveal any problems with them.
Professor Alan Dalton said: The funding we’ve received from AMD means that we can push forward with our research into useful applications for nanomaterials like graphene.
“Whether that’s to develop wearable technology to remotely track babies’ heartbeats, or to print ink onto car tyres which can monitor the tyres and warn the driver about problems, the potential applications of these materials are vast.
“One of the most exciting applications is for camouflage clothing which masks the heat or light being emitted from a material or surface.
“This paves the way for one day making a cloaking device like the one in the movie Predator which lowers its wearer’s thermal temperature, or like Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak.”
