There's been a rash of tiny cameras cropping up in recent months. First, the one-inch cube CogniVue-embedded smart camera, then the Imec hyperspectral system-on-chip camera, and now there's one that's even smaller than the Cognivue cube and can see in short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectra.
At the SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing (DSS) 2012 exhibition last week (April 23 to 27), SWIR imaging pioneer Goodrich ISR Systems introduced what it's claiming is the world's smallest, lightest, and lowest-power-consuming SWIR camera, the GA640C-15A, with a volume of less than one cubic inch.
A one-inch cube camera that sees through fog and smoke at short-wave infrared spectra is small and light enough to be handheld or mounted onto helmets and weapon systems. (Source: Goodrich ISR Systems)
In the past, SWIR cameras were large and consumed a lot of power, since they were based on older mercury cadmium telluride imaging techniques. The Sensors Unlimited division of Goodrich ISR Systems has focused on improving them in several ways, including continuing reductions in size. Two years ago, for instance, the company introduced its SU1024LDH2 digital line-scan SWIR camera, with a full SWIR operating bandwidth ranging from 800nm to 1,700nm, a 25-micron pixel pitch, and aperture heights of 25 or 500 microns. It measures three inches by three inches by four inches, making it small enough to mount on spectrometers.
Goodrich ISR Systems has achieved much of its results by figuring out how to design and produce near infrared (NIR) and SWIR cameras and systems with advanced indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) imaging technology. The company's SWIR linescan cameras were some of the first to be used in machine vision and inspection of silicon photovoltaic solar wafers and cells, looking for voids and cracks in design or failure-analysis labs, as well as checking cells and panels during manufacturing for incomplete current conduction and short circuits. In military applications, SWIR and NIR imaging is especially useful for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations, as well as night vision systems and missile tracking.
The new GA640C-15A camera is small enough, and light enough at 26g without its lens, to be integrated into a handheld, helmet-mounted, or weapon-mounted surveillance devices, as well as unmanned aircraft, and ground-based or marine-based imaging systems. Its power consumption is only 1.5 W.
The camera has a 15-micron pitch and pixel resolution of 640 x 512. It also has a Camera Link digital output, an interesting interface choice in a military environment, since Camera Link is the machine vision-specific interface originally designed for the factory floor. This interface provides plug-and play, 12-bit imagery for viewing, digital processing, and/or transmitting images.
The uncooled SWIR detector images at real-time video rates of 30Hz, in light ranges from daylight to low light, and through smoke, haze, and fog. It operates without temperature stabilization using non-uniformity corrections that are parameterized over temperatures. It also provides onboard automatic gain control for hands-free operation.
An option extends the spectral response to include the NIR range from 700nm to 1,700nm. The camera operates in an extended temperature range from -35C to 71C.
Noswad, SWIR and NIR cameras are not at all cheap. That's why they are aimed at the military. Although civilian uses are possible, they're not at all practicable in the high volumes that consumer products are manufactured in. Many technologies aimed at military uses, such as robotics and machine vision, are also funded by the military because they have the budget.
As saddleman points out, first responders can also use this technology.
jhankwitz, Goodrich ISR's home page has a slideshow--be patient, it changes slides a bit slowly--that includes several side-by-side comparisons of smoke and fog shots with and without SWIR, as well as other apps like solar panels and space.
Good point, Jhankwitz. If this technology can break through fog significantly, there is a wide range of potential applications. If the improvement is incremental, the applications may be limited.
A camera like this could certainly be a very valuable asset in a car during those times at night when I hit big patches of fog. It would take a heads-down display, probably, but it could certainly be a real lifesaver.
Is there any hint about what these may be selling for? And would they even be available to the general public at any price? I know that they removed the IR capabilities from VCR cameras a long time ago, for reasons that were not that clear to me.
But really, price ought to be a parameter that could be disclosed.
War is all about the invasion of privacy, Noswad. I wouldn't be too eager for a product that may nullify freedoms we are fighting for.
Already from the military for civilian use we have electronic "ears" for eavedropping, night vision googles, heat sensors that "see" though walls, and now we see though fog. (I'm sure there are more.) Our right to prvacy is almost gone already. Not to mention personal electronic files that are legally abused on a daily basis.
William, price wasn't mentioned, or we would have included it. Since this is targeted at the military, it's all on a contract basis anyway. As we mentioned earlier in the comments thread, SWIR and NIR cameras are not cheap, which is one reason they're aimed at the military. The development of many technologies aimed at military uses, such as robotics and machine vision, are originally funded by the military because they have the budget.
Ann, my thinking is that such a camera could provide considerable value in some non-military applications, and at that point the price may be relatively cheap. That was the case with some high intensity LED lights, where the suppier was trelling me that they were not yet competitive with equivalent incandescant lights. I had to explain that in the crash testing business reliability and performance far outweigh cost as selection parameters. It took several minutes of explanation to convince him that for our application cost was not an issue. Unfortunately, the performance, which was a major concern, was not adequate at the time.
Thanks for explaining in more detail, William. I see what you mean. Volume of course has to get high enough, and continue long enough, to get component price points down. Goodrich ISR has been doing that with their technology over time, but it's a lot slower than, say, semiconductor processors, partly because of the technology, and partly because there just aren't anywhere near the same numbers being produced.
Yes, William, I used to work in the mining industry and could see a number of applications for this type of device. In certain areas where there is very fine dust, it is sometimes necessary to wait for the dust to clear after dumping a dipper before resuming the cycle. If something like this allowed continuous operation, it would save a boat load of wasted money.
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