Application Notes

BACKGROUND Drones’ proliferation in recent century raise potential security threats to both civilian and military entities. Such threats triggered to a new, rapidly emerging Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) technologies. Its mission is to detect, identify and disable such threats. Infrared (IR) based systems, or IR imaging combined in such multi-sensor types of systems, is a prevalent technology enabling detection, identification and tracking the small unmanned aerial system (sUAS). Ophir designs and manufactures precise, long-range IR continuous zoom lenses for integration into premier C-UAS platforms. Ophir lenses give the C-UAS the best advantage in both identification and acquisition / targeting capabilities.

BACKGROUND In the security and surveillance markets, long range, infrared (IR) imaging plays an increasingly important role for monitoring, tracking, and targeting. The worldwide market for IR systems for commercial and dual-use security and surveillance applications is estimated to grow rapidly and reach a total of $243 million dollars by 2025,[1] with a CAGR of 6.1% (2019-2025).

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.

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.