You’re all familiar with the lengths car makers will take to ensure their prototypes are hard to recognise when they’re out in public view. Crazy patterned vinyl wraps seem to be the best way to fool the eye and, importantly, the camera lens.
This Mercedes-AMG GT almost looks cool with its flaming style camouflage wrap, but looking cool isn’t what it’s all about.
“The patterns we use have evolved over the years, just like the camouflage the military has used has evolved,” said Andrew Farah, Chevrolet Volt chief engineer, in an interview with Autoblog. “As the years have gone by, the pattern has changed at least three times.
“When you think about solid [computer] modeling, the trick is, ‘Where are the feature lines?’ It is hard to model them well, so you can put the shadows in the right places and get a non-flat image.”
However, long-time spy photographer Brenda Priddy says some camouflage actually helps her cause.
“Basically, those wraps yell out, ‘Here I am!,’ Priddy explained. “Contrary to what some of the camouflage designers believe, the contrast [patterns], usually black and white designs, are easy for cameras to focus on, and very simple contrast adjustments in Photoshop-type programs to bring out the car’s ‘hidden’ contours.”
The full article on Autoblog is worth a read, follow the link below to check it out.
[Source: Autoblog | Thanks to Joel for the tip]