Intevac, DRS Technologies to develop digitally fused night-vision goggle

SANTA CLARA, Calif., 26 June 2006. Intevac Inc. has received a subcontract from DRS Technologies Inc. (DRS) to jointly develop a digitally fused head-mounted night vision goggle for the U.S. Army.

The goggle will consist of a low-light imaging sensor provided by Intevac and a thermal imaging sensor from Intevac's development partner, DRS, the prime contractor on this program.

The objective of this program is to develop a prototype head-mounted night vision system in which imagery from thermal (infrared) and low-light (night vision) sensors can be digitally "fused" and displayed on a small high-resolution display in front of the soldier's eye.

Infrared imaging sensors are able to present a TV-type image based on sensing very small temperature differences in the scene being viewed -- and are well suited to object or threat detection -- while low-light imagers are able to provide a higher resolution image of objects that have been detected. Integrating these two technologies in a compact digital head-mounted system delivers the benefits of both technologies simultaneously in a single display image, as well as offering the ability to present data from other sources in the same display. This combination of capabilities offers significantly enhanced night vision and overall situational awareness to the soldier.