ABSTRACT: The UAV industry has significantly evolved and grown in recent years. Alongside this growth, we have seen the development of UAVs and drones with increasingly advanced infrared imaging systems, containing detectors that are larger in size and smaller in pixel size, which present challenges for UAV optics.
ABSTRACT: Poor visibility is a leading cause of traffic collisions worldwide¹, especially during night time hours and harsh weather conditions like fog, smoke, heavy rain and snow. Night vision systems are often used to provide increased vehicle and pedestrian safety, especially in these challenging conditions. When it comes to developing optics for these systems, there must be high thermal imaging quality, and long distance object detection, to minimize collision risk and provide maximum performance.
While drones are relatively new additions to the military’s stable of high-tech robotic systems, ground-based robots have been in use for more than a decade. From detecting, defusing, and disposing of explosives to working side-by-side with soldiers in the field, robots have found a myriad of applications within the military. In this webinar we’ll present products case-studies for the drone and UAV commercial and defense markets. The webinar highlights how robotic systems – both airborne and ground-based – are easing the risks and burdens faced by modern warfighters.
When it comes to long-range, multispectral optical systems, large mirrors play an integral role; there are tens of thousands of optical units containing large mirrors around the globe. With minimum diameters starting at 200 mm, the largest mirrors range from 8.2 m in diameter (single mirrors) to over 10 m (segmented). They take many shapes — spherical, aspheric, parabolic, or freeform — and are used for a wide spectrum of light, including visible, UV, and IR.
Recent UAV system developments have drawn attention to the optical needs of the UAV industry. As detectors become larger in size and smaller in pixel size, UAV optics with higher MTF values and lower F# are the key to maximizing imaging performance.
