Wei Xiang Jiang and Tie Jun Cui have been experimenting with altering the electromagnetic image of an object wrapped in newly developed metamaterials. While this is not intended to remove the object from the visible spectrum of light as depicted in science fiction lore, it is a method of changing the electromagnetic signature of an object when illuminated by radar waves. This new development has obvious military applications as it would render current radar technology as unreliable at best. Radar operators essentially could not tell the difference between a flock of birds, or a bomber flying over a metro city. Metamaterials , or artificial materials, are engineered to inherit certain properties from their structure. Other areas of research in this technology include materials that modify the acoustic and seismic properties of objects.