Infrared systems developer FLIR Systems (NASDAQ: FLIR; Portland, OR, USA) reports that it has delivered more than 11,000 infrared (IR) camera cores into the unmanned vehicle market. FLIR cites “increased popularity of unmanned aerial and ground vehicles” as the motivation to bring three new IR camera cores to market, which are debuting at AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems North America event this week (Aug. 16-19, 2011; Washington, DC, USA).
The newly released cameras include the Tau longwave-infrared (LWIR) 320-resolution camera core, which supports unattended ground sensor systems, weapon sights, and security and surveillance systems; the Tau shortwave-infrared (SWIR) core, with a 640 x 480-pixel InGaAs focal plane array, which targeted for night-vision system design and commercial applications; and the Quark camera core that employs wafer-level packaging for the microbolometer sensor, enabling a device that measures approximately 0.5 cubic inches and weighs less than 20 g.
Military and security applications have been leading the way for new developments in unmanned aerial vehicles in particular , but other emerging applications such as crop monitoring and soil analysis for agriculture, locating downed aircraft, and helping to dock satellites in space have become increasingly reliant on the autonomous technologies of unmanned systems.
