Study of Graphic Camouflage Patterns of Battle Uniform and improving the pattern used by Indian Army

Study of

Graphic Camouflage Patterns of Battle Uniform and

improving the pattern used by Indian Army

Supervisor

Mr. K.K. Balakrishnan

Co-supervisor

Dr. Jayesh Pillai

- Rohit Singh (M.Des.) I.I.I.T. Jabalpur

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aE5mW4R1V1g/UBhnXN8wW8I/AAAAAAAAB2E/A3owgBnZr5c/s1600/akakus_peinture_guerriers.jpg

War• War exists as a continuous

culture since the human civilisation.

• Ethnic Superiority, Self Defence have caused war.

• Operation strategy plays a crucial role for winning the war.

http://cdn.isha.ws/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Battle-of-Kurukshetra-Manuscript-Illustration.jpg

Mahabharata

http://schnellmann.org/pic_counterjihad/mo_hamza_banu.jpgPersian Warriors

http://www.about.com/sites/default/files/mongol_main.jpgMongol Wars

http://www.historytoday.com/sites/default/files/panipat_main.jpgMughal Battle

http://www.amedeoguillet.com/amedeo/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/infantry144.gifAdvent of Guns and Canons

http://cdn.lightgalleries.net/4bd5ebf721640/images/IRAQADDARIO042-1.jpg

War Methods• With the advent of gun powder,

war changed drastically.

• No longer needed to come face to face to the enemy.

• Concealment and surveillance replaced old war skills.

• Better weapon technology push better methods of concealment.

http://cdn.lightgalleries.net/4bd5ebf721640/images/IRAQADDARIO042-1.jpg

Camouflage

• Way to obscure the object from enemy to render undetected.

• Concealment of soldier, war fare, vehicles.

• A disruptive pattern that mimics the background.

• Use of patterns over the body to blend with the environment.

Nature Inspiration

• Idea of camouflage taken from nature.

• Animals, Birds have disruptive pattern over their body.

• Result of natural evolution over a long period of time.

• In some cases, natural camouflage is more dynamic.

http://commons.Wikimedia.org/wiki/FIle:Nature_photographer.jpg

History of Military Camouflage

• Idea of concealment is as old as the war is.

• Wooden horse of battle of troy is such example.

• Deceiving the enemy has always been the major war strategy.

• Graphic patterns over the dresses started after world war I.

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5


• British army first realized the need of concealing their soldiers.

• Khaki Dress was first such initiative.

• Replaced old red or blue war jackets.

• The muddy land was the inspiration to design this dress.


• Germans made the first graphic patterns to be used as camouflage.

• Contemporary Artists developed these patterns based on their skills.

• Following Germans, many nations started developing their camo patterns.

• Later, design testing was also started to validate the design.


• By the end of world war 2, several nations started making their own camouflage dresses.

• More research was supported for better and more accurate camo pattern.

• Canada came up with the more disruptive and better working digital or pixilated pattern CADPAT.

http://camopedia.org_main.jpg

Context of Indian Army

• One of the largest Land force started using camo only in mid 1980s.

• Fought full time wars with neighbours in 1948, 1965, 1971, 1999.

• Have fought one of the toughest wars in War History.

• Safeguard National Borders varying in different climatic conditions.

http://cdn.isha.ws/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/KargilWar.jpg



• First started wearing Brush Stroke Pattern from British army.




• First started wearing Brush Stroke Pattern from British army.

• Later in 1990s, started using Woodland Pattern from US army which they rejected to wear better tested camo pattern.


Problem Identification

• Volatile political borders with the neighbouring countries.

• Constant surveillance required for which better Camo patterns should be worn.

• Never used their own pattern based on their working environment but adopted from others.

• Difference in the natural vegetation of those regions over which the adopted patterns are based.

http://http://www.jonathansaruk.com/#/images/Indian_ArmyK_20081226_6625

Design Process

• Divided into four parts :

• Imagery Collection.

• New pattern preparation.

• Testing of new pattern.

• Data analysis

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:photographer.jpg

Design ProcessImagery collection

• Forest cover of Jabalpur was selected as the site for image collection.

• Different locations of the area was recorded to have a look of all kinds of shades of colour in the region.

• E.g. Area of direct sunlight, under shadow, wet areas.

Design ProcessNew pattern Preparation

• The images were processed in Adobe Photoshop.



• Then, pixilated to maximum extent to pick three colours i.e. primary, secondary and background.




• Cloud filter was applied on black and white version to create Nosie in the image.





• Then, same shade portion was selected in the re-pixilated version and filled with above mentioned three colours.




• Then, same shade portion was selected in the re-pixilated version and filled with above mentioned three colours.

• Different camouflage patterns based on different locations


• After optimizing the different patterns, finally this pattern was selected as the new pattern.

• Code Named as Indian Camouflage (INCAM)

Design Validation

• The new pattern was tested in comparison with the existing pattern i.e. M81 Woodland.

• Both the pattern images were taken to same environment.

• Both the pattern were photographed at the same distance consecutively at three different location.

• Labelled as test 1, test 2, test 3.

• The range of distance in each test was from 1 m to 40 m.

Design Validation

• All the images collected at various distances were tested with the set of users.

• The help of Eye-Tracking machine was taken to check the visual movement of user.

• Every image was taken at a certain pre-noticed distance.

• Every two consecutive images was 3 m apart.

Design Validation

• The distance was noted at which the user was first able to detect the pattern in the environment.

• All these data was tabulated and analysed.

Design Validation

• It was found that the new pattern was detected at a closer range as compared to old pattern.

• The median of the two results came was:

Distance from

pattern

Visual Angle at the given distance

Test 1 Test 2 Test 3

40m 0.30°

37m 0.32°

34m 0.34°

31m 0.38°

28m 0.42°

25m 0.48°

22m 0.54° C G

19m 0.62°

16m 0.74° H, F, D E, C, I, F

13m 0.90° J, I, B, G D, H, A

10m 1.20° A, E J

7m 1.70° J, A

4m 3° G, F, D, C, B B

1m 12° I, E, H

Distance from

pattern


40m

37m E, H, I

34m

31m J, G G, A, F

28m I, B, F, H J

25m A, C, D, E B

22m D

19m C

16m I, J, B, A

13m H, E, D, G, F

10m C

7m

4m

1m


Minimum distance of detection of old pattern.

28 m

13 m

31 m

Minimum distance of detection of new pattern.

13 m

4 m

13 m

Conclusion

• The pattern was found to be effective for the particular region i.e. Forest, as compared to the current pattern used by Indian Army.

• There is scope for future research for more accurate result.

• This process can help to design patterns for other locations also like desert, urban areas etc.

Thank you

1. Europa Militaria. (2011).

2. FM 20-3, U. A. (2010). Camouflage, Concealment, and Decoys, 39(November).

3. Fm 3-0. (2008), (February).

4. FM 5-20, W. W. W. S. (1968). FM 5-20 CAMOUFLAGE, (May).

5. Friškovec, M., & Gabrijelčič, H. (2010). Development of a Procedure for Camouflage Pattern Design, 18(4), 68–76.

6. India - Camopedia. (2014). Camopedia india. Retrieved July 28, 2014, from http://www.camopedia.org/index.php?title=India

7. Lin, C. J., Chang, C.-C., & Lee, Y.-H. (2014). Evaluating camouflage design using eye movement data. Applied Ergonomics, 45(3), 714–23. doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2013.09.012

8. NATO, O. (2006). Guidelines for Camouflage Assessment Using Observers ( Instructions pour les évaluations de camouflage (Vol. 323).

9. Pattern, D., Woodland, T., Equip-, P., & Establish-, Q. E. T. (2007). Uniforms by design meet specs for form and function, 2–4.

10. Puzikova, N. P., Uvarova, E. V., Filyaev, I. M., & Yarovaya, L. a. (2008). Principles of an approach for coloring military camouflage. Fibre Chemistry, 40(2), 155–159.

doi:10.1007/s10692-008-9030-9

11. Ramli, A. G., Asri, M., Ghani, A., & Sathyamoorthy, D. (2012). QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF CAMOUFLAGE PATTERNS ON, 3(1), 87–99.

12. Townes, D. E., Patricio, G. R., Winterhalter, C. A., & Lomba, R. A. (2004). ( 12 ) United States Patent, 1(12).

13. Deception: Theory and Practice Thesis, James D. Monroe, NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL, 2012.

14. The Spatial Color Mixing Model of Digital Camouflage Pattern, Zhang, Yong Xue, Shi-qiang Jiang, Xiao-jun Mu, Jing-yang Yi, Yang, 2013

15. From Dazzle to the Desert : A Cultural-Historical Geography of Camouflage Isla McLean Forsyth School of Geographical and Earth Sciences College of Science and

Engineering University of Glasgow, 201

References