Goodrich has developed a very small, lightweight and low-power shortwave infrared (SWIR) camera for unmanned vehicles. Weighing less than 128 grams (in a volume of approximately 31.6 cm3), the device is currently installed in the nosecone of a Raven hand-launched unmanned aerial system. The new camera, developed by Goodrich's ISR Systems team in Princeton, New Jersey, is based on indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) technology that can see light wavelengths from 0.7-1.7 micrometers, a wider range than traditional night vision cameras that detect wavelengths up to roughly 1.0 micrometers.

Goodrich says the SWIR camera's expanded capabilities will allow users to detect and track a wide range of military lasers, day or night, with "exceptional clarity." The camera is installed on the Raven UAS along with a 320x240 resolution long-wave infrared (LWIR) microbolometer, augmenting the microbolometer's thermal night imaging capabilities by enabling visual verification of laser location and imaging during thermal crossover - the hours of sunrise and sunset - when the performance of traditional thermal imaging systems is degraded. "The Goodrich SWIR camera combined with the LWIR microbolometer on the same platform allows 24-hour coverage from a single unmanned aerial system," says Martin Ettenberg, director of business development for Goodrich's ISR Systems Princeton team.

Source: Flight Daily News

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