Illusion optics: The optical transformation of an object into another object

TL;DR

This paper introduces a transformation optics method to create illusions where one object appears as another, enabling remote viewing through walls and extending cloaking concepts to broader illusion applications.

Contribution

It presents a novel optical illusion device that transforms scattered light to make an object appear as a different one, regardless of incident wave profiles.

Findings

Successfully demonstrates remote illusion creation

Enables seeing through walls using optical illusions

Extends cloaking to general illusion applications

Abstract

We propose to use transformation optics to generate a general illusion such that an arbitrary object appears to be like some other object of our choice. This is achieved by using a remote device that transforms the scattered light outside a virtual boundary into that of the object chosen for the illusion, regardless of the profile of the incident wave. This type of illusion device also enables people to see through walls. Our work extends the concept of cloaking as a special form of illusion to the wider realm of illusion optics.