Queen Mary, University of London, announced this week that it is working with three other universities to develop invisibility cloaking technology not unlike that employed by the Hogwarts wizards who will be starring in "" next week.

The five-year, $6.4 million Quest for Ultimate Electromagnetics using Spatial Transformations (QUEST) project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Elements of the research are being showcased this week at the in London.

HUMOR:

Professor Yang Hao from Queen Mary's School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science said in a : "There has been intensive research into the principles of invisibility science which has now matured to the point that the next big step is to use the insights of theory to produce practical devices.... Invisibility is an optical illusion created by the transformation of space in suitable materials. technology relies on electromagnetic waves like radio waves that are similar in behaviour to light, but have much longer wavelengths, and what is possible for light is often also possible for other electromagnetic waves."

What's really interesting about this research from an IT industry perspective, beyond the general idea of invisible anything, is that the technology developed could find in everything from wireless communications and energy transfer to . Possible applications: shielding mobile phone electromagnetic waves in such a way that phones could be used on airplanes without causing interference, and the development of tiny wireless antennas that could be unobtrusively sewn into clothing.