The Navy has a need for low-cost cameras to be used in disposable UAVs for maritime reconnaissance. B.E. Meyers offers a suite of three cameras, enabling viewing anytime in a 24-hr day, in all sorts of weather conditions. For low-scattering environments, including rain or mist, ultra-sensitive CCDs, with electronic shuttering capability and an optional LED illuminator, enable imaging under conditions ranging from daylight to overcast starlight. In high-scattering, low-visibility conditions, such as fog, a low-cost microbolometer LWIR camera images by detecting thermal signatures of the scene. All cameras are able to identify humans easily, and recognize or identify small weapons. The cameras are electronically imaged stabilized using chip-level gyros to sense three orthogonal rotations. Averaged, camera costs remain below $1.5K. Cameras are cradled in a pan & tilt mechanism that has a mirror to define the viewing direction. The complete pan/tilt/zoom camera package occupies a 2.5" diameter cylindrical space, and weighs 2 lbs., conforming to Coyote UAV requirements. Among proposed activities are: 1) lab and field testing of all camera systems, with comparison to standard CCDs and Gen III night vision, 2) shake testing of an gyro-stabilized camera, and 3) Preliminary Design development leading into Phase II.
Benefits: First, the Navy will be able to use these disposable cameras to assess threat situations anytime during a 24-hour day, in all sorts of weather conditions. Within other branches of the military, the cameras can be used for such missions as IED detection, which is a top problem in Army. Very big markets for low-cost cameras are anticipated for surveillance of our borders and ports, with the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Coast Guard being end users. In civilian markets, law enforcement surveillance has the best market potential, likely being on the scale of border and port security.
Keywords: Low-cost, Disposable, Pan/Tilt/Zoom, ultra-sensitive CCD, UAV, LWIR, image stabilized, surveillance