US4CES is a digital camouflage pattern created by Doug Cramer originally made for a U.S. military contract but the deal fell through.
Coloration: Predominant environmental colors make up the majority of the US4CES™ pattern – Woodland features a high percentage of Olive Drab and Light Brown. Arid uses Khaki and Coyote as the main colors while Transitional features Olive and Golden Tan. The predominant colors are then contrasted with a darker color of the region to allow the pattern to break up. A smaller percentage of the color spectrum is used for a lighter shade which is perceived as natural reflections or gaps in the pattern and the darkest shade which is perceived as shadows or holes in the pattern. Both the lightest areas and darkest areas use an extremely effective large pixel (square) macro-pattern format. This macro-pattern also has a smaller fractal micro-pattern of its own with smaller square pixels which are present around the borders of the large squares.
Dimensional Layering: Proprietary algorithms were used to create a boundary luminance gradient between colors, creating an illusion of 3-dimensional layering, while limiting the design to four colors. This added feature creates the illusion of depth, which the brain interprets not as a solid flat surface but rather as a textured multi-layer surface, tricking the brain into regarding the material as part of the natural environment. Disrupting Shape & Masking Movement: The macro-pattern is designed to disrupt the human shape as well as to mask movement. Key points within the pattern disrupt the pivot points of the limbs and torso making detection and identification very difficult.
Fractal Algorithms: Intrinsic to the technology behind US4CES™ is our proprietary fractal algorithm. Fractal algorithms duplicate natural fractals (geometric shapes found in nature). Developing camouflage without fractals leaves a critical component out of the design process. The brain interprets fractals as background noise and typically ignores the pattern as common to the environment (not worth further scrutiny), allowing a soldier wearing the camouflage a few extra precious seconds of time in concealment or to react to an adversary.
ADS conducted internal objective testing before submitting US4CES™ to the Army and concluded the Transitional pattern exceeds the U.S. Navy's AOR-2 pattern by 19.86% and OEF/OCP (MultiCam®) by 26.71% within transitional environments.
Early response has shown US4CES™ to be highly effective in objective and subjective concealment testing. While the point of camouflage is tactical effectiveness – not aesthetic appearance, US4CES™ presents a professional and progressive look for a modern Army.