TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- If you have ever wished you could be invisible, just like Harry Potter in his magic cloak, you are in luck, thanks to an invention by a Japanese scientist.
Professor Susumu Tachi, from Tokyo University, has developed a process called optical camouflage, which turns objects invisible -- or more accurately, translucent.
A camera films a scene, which is happening behind the wearer of the cloak.
The image is then projected on to the cloak -- made up of hundreds of tiny glass beads that reflect the image back.
The viewer, in turn, sees both the cloak and what's happening behind it -- effectively turning the wearer invisible.
Tachi says his invention depicts an "augmented reality", which is better, in some ways, than actual reality.
"The real world is augmented by information. The information might be an X-Ray or an MRI image or the information from a background camera."
He hopes to see his invention used in medicine, which would allow a surgeon to see what's happening inside his patient before ever making a cut.
In Washington, meanwhile, blocks of translucent concrete have gone on show at the National Building Museum.
The wall is made out of a new material called LiTraCon, which stands for Light Transmitting Concrete, and is made by adding glass fibers to normal concrete mix.
Suggested uses for the concrete, created by Hungarian architect Áron Losonczi, include building indoor fire escapes, which would allow light to be transmitted during power cuts in underground transport systems to let natural light in.
