When Mercedes wanted to promote its new fuel cell vehicle, instead of placing it squarely in front of everyone in the world, the company decided to make the car invisible.
Using optical camouflage technology boffins at Mercedes Benz created the illusion that their new zero emissions F-Cell car is not even there at all. Taking the principal that to see through something you need to see what's behind it, they covered the driver's side of the car in mats of LEDs, and mounted a digital SLR camera on the opposite side of the vehicle.
A Mercedes-Benz F-CELL car can travel up to 250 miles using an electric engine equivalent to 134 horsepower. Commercial hydrogen-powered cars may not arrive for real until 2015, analysts anticipate, the major problem in the US being the cost of establishing proper equipment at gas stations.
Mercedes says its hydrogen-powered drive system is “ready for series production,”. However, fuel-cell technology is still notoriously expensive, partly because hydrogen is a difficult fuel to store and transport. The materials needed to create a viable fuel-cell are still hovering in the pricey stratosphere.
Practicality aside, we applaud Mercedes and its efforts to create a vehicle with zero emissions and less impact on the environment, and admire the lengths to which these artists went to bring home that point.
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