There’s a cloak that can make children disappear, just like Harry Potter.
But it’s not magic.
The latest toy inspired by the wizarding world of Hogwarts is an Invisibility Cloak which lets Potter fans vanish beneath the cloak from their favourite scenes when viewed through a mobile app.
The key to the magic is the fabric cloak’s green interior, which works similar to the more familiar ‘green-screen’ technology used in TV and film production.
The app picks up the green on the inside of the cloak and makes it invisible when viewed through the device.
The technology normally adds a background to the green section but not in this case – it makes it vanish.
Harry Potter’s Invisibility Cloak is real at #toyfair2019 and it’s so much fun! pic.twitter.com/qUiYYZIOVp
— Mike Sorrentino (@MikeJSorrentino) February 16, 2019
Just like the #HarryPotter films, the cloak works via green screen, allowing you to take videos and photos of yourself (or lack thereof!) via an app! The cloak is out now at @wowstuff and out in the U.S. in the next couple of weeks! 🤩 #WOWStuffInvisibilityCloak pic.twitter.com/lXXhAf4rxy
— The Leaky Cauldron (@leaky) June 19, 2019
While it might not be the real ‘disillusionment charm’ made famous by J.K. Rowling’s much-loved stories, designer Mark Gasson said it was a close second.
“We’re actually using the green-screen technology to make something disappear, as opposed to make something appear that isn’t there,” he told AAP.
“What the smart device is doing is looking for the green side of the cloak, and the app utilises a function that allows it to drop the scene as it would if the cloak wasn’t there on top of the green and that gives the illusion that you’re disappearing.”
Commissioned for production by Wow! Stuff and Warner Bros, the cloak goes on sale in Australia on July 1.
AAP
