One of the most important areas of clothing innovation is for military purposes. High- tech textiles are everywhere at the U.S. Army research center in Natick, Massachusetts. As part of their Future Warrior program, researchers are developing uniforms that will make a soldier difficult or impossible to see. Fibers in the uniform would take on the same color, brightness, and patterns of the wearer's surroundings. A soldier dressed in such a uniform would become nearly invisible to the enemy. The researchers at Natick are also working on portable buildings that are made of what are essentially large, high-strength textile balloons. Called air beams, these building materials would allow a team to build a structure large enough to hold airplanes in a fraction of the time a conventional metal structure would take. The largest air beams, about 0.75 meters (2.5 feet) in diameter and 24 meters (78 feet) long, are so rigid that you can hang a heavy truck from one. Yet they can be packed into a truck. Whereas a conventional metal hangar takes ten people five days to set up, one made of air beams can be set up by six people in just two days. Today's textile innovators are creating astonishing things. From Alex Soza's artistic jacket that defies gravity to smart aprons to invisible military uniforms, high-tech textiles will soon be appearing in more and more parts of our lives. Who can foresee what these textile pioneers will dream up next? "It's about imagination!" says Alex Soza, with a bright look in his eye. "It's a beautiful dream! It's turning science fiction into scientific fact!