Most invisibility cloaks make objects MORE noticeable: Scientists admit they are struggling to create the elusive disguise U.S. scientists admitted there are major limitations to current technology used in invisibility cloaks, which are often made of rigid materials Researchers at University of Texas said current 'cloaks' are limited to working against narrow ranges of wavelengths and types of waves To try and overcome this problem, they are looking at how current invisibility devices scatter light waves Since ancient times, people have dreamed of becoming invisible and many fans of Harry Potter have anticipated the day when they might be able to own a cloak that makes them disappear instantly. But they might be in for a long wait as scientists have admitted that most invisibility cloaks currently being developed actually make objects more visible. While researchers have worked out how to bend light around objects to make them temporarily invisible, there are major limitations to current technology. Scientists have admitted that most invisibility cloaks currently being developed actually make objects more visible, rather than hiding them. Pictured is perhaps the ultimate invisibility cloak - as imagined in the Harry Potter film, The Philosopher's Stone Light humans see bounces off an object before it reaches our eyes. Scientists are controlling the path of the light to make objects invisible, using cleverly-shaped pieces of glass and other materials, which are loosely described as invisibility cloaks. Researchers have managed to make the light bypass objects they want to hide behind their cloaks, but still enable the light to reach a human's eyes. When light goes through a cloaking device it disperses sideways and follows a certain path to reach the same point as if it didn't encounter any objects. This means an object inside the cloak seems to have disappeared. Current cloaking devices are made out of a variety of materials - including planes of glass - and few of them look like the flexible cloaks worn by Harry Potter or the massive 'cloaking device' used in Star Trek. Scientists are working on bending light waves around objects with the help of various specially-shaped materials, returning the waves to their original trajectories as if there was no object there to block them, Live Science reported. They have also found ways to deflect and reposition other kinds of waves, such as sounds waves used in sonar equipment. While these scientific advances are impressive and will no doubt lead to more breakthroughs, scientists at the University of Texas at Austin, said current invisibility cloaks have numerous drawbacks. Perhaps the biggest problem to overcome is that the cloaks are usually limited to working against narrow ranges of wavelengths and types of waves, so a cloak designed to deflect microwaves would not deflect visible light. To try and overcome this problem, the researchers looked at how current invisibility devices scatter light waves. Researchers from the Zhejiang University, China and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have explained how they use light refraction to render objects invisible using their 'cloak', which is actually a cleverly-designed hexagonal array of panels of glass Although cloaks can make objects appear invisible within certain wavelengths, the scientists calculated that the techniques used for devices at the moment actually scatter more light than uncloaked objects. Current invisibility cloaks essentially make objects more visible - not less, they said. Andrea Alu, an electrical engineer at the University of Texas at Austin and Francesco Monticone said that by making an object invisible to red light, it can make it bright blue, increasing its visibility over all. Assuming one looked at all wavelengths of light, one would actually see the cloaked object 'more than the uncloaked object it is trying to hide,' they wrote in their study, published in the journal Physical Review X. Most invisibility cloaks being developed at the moment are made from metamaterials, which can be artificial structures with special light scattering properties. A lot of cloaks are made from static materials to warp light, but in the future, they could be fashioned from dynamic components such as a network of electronic amplifiers that connect metal patches, to create an active and changeable surface. The use of such technology could make cloaks invisible over a broader range of wavelengths and lighting conditions.