The idea of turning invisible could be closer to 'science fact' than 'science fiction'.

Researchers at the University of Texas have for the first time used an invisibility cloak to make a three-dimensional object.

One cloaking technique uses so-called meta-materials to redirect light, creating 2-dimensional invisibility; another uses a heat panel to create a mirage effect, bending the light to trick the eye.

The latest advance uses plasmonic meta-materials to cancel all reflected light. No reflection means the object disappears into 3-dimensional invisibility.

Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull reports from London.