Goodrich to Develop Next-Generation Night Vision Technology for DARPA

The U.S. Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected Goodrich Corporation to develop a next-generation night vision sensor technology for helmet-mounted and micro-vehicle applications.

The three-year contract, which was released under DARPA's MISI (micro sensors for imaging) program to Goodrich's ISR Systems division, covers engineering and initial prototypes of lightweight imaging cameras based on Goodrich's SWIR (shortwave infrared) sensors.

SWIR technology works in wavelength bands between visible and thermal cameras – an area that current night vision technology is ineffective – to detect reflected light at wavelengths that can't be seen by the human eye.  According to Goodrich, the extremely small and lightweight size of its system is made possible by using advanced materials and circuitry that allow it to run without cooling, unlike other night vision technologies.  SWIR is already being used on a number of other applications, from non-invasive medical examinations to silicon wafer inspection.

In the MISI program, Goodrich's Sensors Unlimited (SUI) team intends to fit its indium gallium arsenide-night vision (InGaAs-NV) SWIR sensors into a 640 x 512 pixel resolution camera weighing less than 10 grams, which can be used in hand-launched unmanned aerial vehicles.  In addition, the company will deliver a 1280 x 1024 pixel head-mounted monocular system.  01-03-2008.

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