Did You Know There Is Counter-Surveillance Clothing (Including a Burqa) That Can Combat Detection From Drones and X-Ray?

It is expected that the use of drones for surveillance will only increase, as will the use of facial recognition technology. Many have privacy concerns regarding these technologies, but some designers have responded to meet what could be a demand for counter-surveillance clothing.

Meet the the "privacy visor" and the "Stealth Wear hoodie."

The facial recognition foiling goggles were developed by Japanese scientists to prevent law enforcement, shop mannequins and, if you're wearing the glasses in a photo, social media sites from identifying you.

(Image: National Institute of Informatics)

"As a result of developments in facial recognition technology in Google images, Facebook et cetera and the popularisation of portable terminals that append photos with photographic information ... essential measures for preventing the invasion of privacy caused by photographs taken in secret and unintentional capture in camera images is now required," Tokyo Institute of Informatics professor Isao Echizen told BBC (via Popular Science).

The Stealth Wear, "anti-drone" hoodie design developed by Adam Harvey uses metallic fabric that hampers thermal imaging systems.

"They work by using highly metallized fibers to reflect heat, thereby masking the wearer’s thermal signature," his website explains.

Anti-drone hoodie (Photo: Adam Harvey)

In addition to the hoodie, other anti-drone pieces include the burqa and scarf.

(Photo: Adam Harvey)

"Conceptually, these garments align themselves with the rationale behind the traditional hijab and burqa: to act as 'the veil which separates man or the world from God,' replacing God with drone," Harvey's website states.

These clothing items are actually for sale. The burqa costs $2,365, the scarf $583 and the hoodie goes for $496.

Harvey's Stealth Wear collection as a whole, which includes a T-shirt that protects the wearer from X-ray radiation and a cellphone pouch that prevents incoming and outgoing signals, is described on his website as "a vision for fashion that addresses the rise of surveillance, the power of those who surveil, and the growing need to exert control over what we are slowly losing, our privacy."