Various types of technology can be used to help make vehicles greener and save at the fuel pump. Typically, though, most people tend to think only about electric vehicles or hybrids when it comes to green car technology.
However, there is also compressed natural gas, as well as advanced fuel cell technology – although the industruy still has a ways to go until it can be manufacture a commercially viable fuel cell vehicle and accompanying infrastructure.
Nevertheless, Mercedes-Benz is showcasing a pretty sweet video to promote its F-Cell Hydrogen car. According to Mercedes, the fuel cell powered vehicle is “invisible” to the environment, as it boasts a driving range of 240 miles on a single tank of hydrogen and produces no emissions other than water vapor.
To further promote the concept, the auto manufacturer has designed what may be the most invisible vehicle the side of Wonder Woman’s jet.
Essentially, Mercedes took sheets of colored LEDs and completely covered one side of the vehicle, and placed a camera on the other, uncovered side. The camera projects what it is “seeing” onto the sheets of LEDs on the front of the vehicle – making it all but disappear to the naked eye. The effect is somewhat like Predator, only Arnold doesn’t have to come fight the Mercedes F-Cell hydrogen car caked in mud.
Unsurprisingly, the LEDs lack the resolution to make the trick convincing when the car is moving, but as you can see in the video, when the car is sitting still it does become very difficult to see. Interestingly enough, the US military has long been eyeing very similar technology to conceal tanks and other vehicles, so the “invisible” Mercedes could be a step in the right direction.
