Sensors Unlimited's (part of the Goodrich Corporation) shortwave infrared (SWIR) camera has been successfully flight-tested on the ScanEagle unmanned aircraft at the Fort Leonard Wood test range in Missouri.
The high sensitivity SU640KTSX indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) SWIR imager requires no cooling; weighs less than 90g, and has a low power consumption (less than 2.5W at 20°C), which makes it ideal for unmanned flight imaging requirements.
Ed Hart, general manager of Goodrich's Sensors Unlimited Princeton, NJ team, notes: 'We are proud to be part of this successful flight test with The Boeing Company and Insitu. The ability to image through fog, haze or rain during daytime or night-time makes our shortwave InGaAs high sensitivity camera especially useful for unmanned aircraft for maritime intelligence and surveillance.'
The 640 x 512 pixel solid-state camera, with on-board non-uniformity corrections, captures full-sized images at 30fps. The camera's focal plane array features a 25µm pitch with a wavelength response over the shortwave infrared spectrum from 0.9 to 1.7µm. This model is also available with Sensors Unlimited's new NIR/SWIR extended wavelength response from 0.7 to 1.7µm. The SU640KTSX can be easily integrated into large or small systems, making it suitable for hand-held, helmet mounted, mobile or aerial SWIR imaging applications. Because InGaAs night vision (NV) technology detects reflected light, Goodrich's NIR/SWIR camera provides exceptional identification clarity over a wide range of day and night illumination levels.
