DTI R&D grant paves way to US$ 10 billion market for Hampshire-based company

MARCH 29--Stereoscopic Image Systems Limited (SIS; Hampshire, UK; www.sis3d.co.uk) has launched a new mini stereoscopic add depth binocular viewer (ADBV) for use with robots and remotely operated vehicles. The ADBV is the first commercial product to come from a prototyping tool that was developed by the company, with funding from a DTI Research and Development Grant.

SIS was awarded the DTI Research and Development Grant in December 2003 to produce a modeling tool to investigate the parameters of 3-D optical capture and display. The tool, rechristened the Add Depth Optical Prototyping Tool (ADOPT), is based on the Zemax optical system. Roger Bennett, chief operating officer, states: "The R&D grant made this project happen, and we are extremely pleased with the cooperation and support we received from the DTI."

ADOPT allows the SIS technical sales team, headed by Alan Scrase, chief technical officer, to model and scale customer requirements on a PC-based system. The visual and graphical output from the model is analyzed in real time via a screen display. Scrase states: "ADOPT has massively shortened the design lead times required to provide customer solutions. The output also lends itself very well to the use of rapid-prototyping technologies."

The mini ADBV was designed specifically for a US-based crash, search, and rescue team and is typically used with the SIS 'Bug', a single-camera stereoscopic sensor that is attached to Packbot search-and-rescue robots. "Although the thought of saving lives makes us feel very warm inside, we are aware of the military implications of our products. The US alone is spending US$10 billion in the next decade on unmanned vehicles," says Roger Bennett.

The ADBV weighs less than 500 g and is for use in locations where operators use unmanned ground vehicles. The ADBV can be hand-held or helmet-mounted with wired and wireless options available.