JULY 14--Sensors Unlimited Inc. (Princeton, NJ; www.sensorsinc.com), a provider of imaging products based on indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) technology, has received a contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) for a nine-month, $890,000 program to develop the industry's first all-solid-state night-vision 640 x 512-pixel (25-μm pitch), room-temperature InGaAs camera, sensitive from 0.9 to 1.7 μm. This camera will enable imaging under moonless night conditions with no perceptible image lag.
This short-wavelength infrared night-vision camera will be used in DARPA's Multispectral Adaptive Networked Tactical Imaging Sensor (MANTIS) program. The goal of MANTIS is to provide soldiers with multispectral imaging information while exploiting network access for collaborative visualization between soldiers. The US Army Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) will monitor the contract.
"This is the next generation in night-vision imaging technology and will enable the USA to continue its dominance in military imaging," said Chris Dries, vice president of research and development, Sensors Unlimited. "This contract underscores the military's confidence in our technological innovations and our commitment to imaging in the short-wavelength IR band."
The camera system will be small, lightweight, low power, and capable of transmitting RS-170 compatible video, as well as 14-bit digital imagery. The all-solid-state system is antiblooming and contains variable gain permitting the camera to be used during both day and night operations. "The high resolution and high sensitivity will detect a camouflaged man at 100 m under starlight-only conditions," stated Martin H. Ettenberg, director of imaging products, Sensors Unlimited.
