Electromagnetic Shielding Bomber by vollebak blocks signals
Vollebak releases the Electromagnetic Shielding Bomber jacket made with the materials used in NASA’s Mars rover. Based on the technology used by the space agency for the Curiosity Rover during its Mars mission, the fashion piece can block any kind of signal, including text messages, microwave waves, and signals from space. The wearable follows the brand’s Shielding Suit with the same aerospace-grade fabric by Shieldex, which is used to protect electronics from cyberattacks, block thermal detection of satellites, and support wearable sensors for health monitoring.
It is the same Bremen-based laboratory that created the tent that blocked all outside electromagnetic waves for NASA’s Curiosity Rover that flew to Mars. The outer layer of Vollebak’s Electromagnetic Shielding Bomber is made from ripstop nylon with the silver being grown into the fabric instead of sewn in. Because of this, the silver is built inside the fibers of the material, which makes up about 20 percent of the jacket’s surface. Since silver is known as an antimicrobial material, the surface of the fashion piece can kill bacteria, becoming another purpose of the wearable aside from blocking the electromagnetic waves.
all images courtesy of Vollebak | photos by Sun Lee
Silver-made jacket that can kill bacteria
Radio waves and microwaves travel far and are used for things like phone networks and radar, while ultraviolet rays, x-rays, and gamma rays are powerful but do not travel far. These waves can change atoms and damage living tissue, and the Electromagnetic Shielding Bomber by Vollebak can block certain parts of this spectrum. Its silver layer shields radio waves and microwaves between 0.2 GHz and 14 GHz, meaning it can impede 99 percent of signals in this range. The piece also includes a pocket for a phone, which acts like a Faraday cage. Once the phone is placed inside the pocket, it cannot send or receive signals, and this happens whether the phone is turned on or off.
In this way, the pocket works like a sealed container for signals, similar to a waterproof bag but for electromagnetic waves. Explaining the silver used in the jacket that kills bacteria, it releases ions when it touches bacteria, and these ions break the outer part of the bacteria cell, enter the cell, and stop it from working or spreading. Vollebak says that they’ve created the Electromagnetic Shielding Bomber as a preparation for future risks from electromagnetic radiation. So far, the team is also working on new materials for different future problems, including health, climate, space travel, and digital security. With the bomber jacket, it currently blocks low-frequency waves, but the team adds that future versions may block stronger radiation like x-rays or gamma rays.
Vollebak releases the Electromagnetic Shielding Bomber jacket made with the materials used in NASA’s Mars rover
the fashion piece can block any kind of signal, including text messages and signals from space
the outer layer is made from ripstop nylon, with the silver being grown into the fabric
silver makes up about 20 percent of the jacket’s surface
detailed view of the cuff
the piece also includes a pocket for a phone, which acts like a Faraday cage