Current military conflicts impose severe demands on the fighting forces, specifically at the dismounted soldier and individual intelligence personnel level, where situational awareness and instant sharing of information is necessary. The Low Cost Thermal Imager - Manufacturing (LCTI-M) program seeks to enable widespread use of infrared imaging technology by individual warfighters and insertion in small systems. The general use of infrared technology, at the individual warfighter level, may open possibilities for the implementation of new tactical procedures where a common view of the battlefield is essential for success. Infrared imaging has the capability to image through obscurants, providing valuable information even in environments with severely degraded visibility. Low cost infrared cameras will empower each warfighter with this essential capability. In addition, these cameras will enable the capture and transmission of electronic images for intelligence analysis and other critical situations.
Current military conflicts impose severe demands on the fighting forces, specifically at the dismounted soldier and individual intelligence personnel level, where situational awareness and instant sharing of information is necessary. The Low Cost Thermal Imager - Manufacturing (LCTI-M) program seeks to enable widespread use of infrared imaging technology by individual warfighters and insertion in small systems. The general use of infrared technology, at the individual warfighter level, may open possibilities for the implementation of new tactical procedures where a common view of the battlefield is essential for success. Infrared imaging has the capability to image through obscurants, providing valuable information even in environments with severely degraded visibility. Low cost infrared cameras will empower each warfighter with this essential capability. In addition, these cameras will enable the capture and transmission of electronic images for intelligence analysis and other critical situations.
Thermal imaging devices can have enormous implications for both Defense and National Security. They can be inserted into hand-held units, modified cell phone products, rifle sights, helmets, eye-glasses, micro-UAVs and other small form-factor devices for real-time target recognition, acquisition, and network sharing of data. Because of their small size and low power requirements, these thermal imagers can support extended missions in many small portable systems. If very low-cost high-performance thermal imagers can be made available, every vehicle, surveillance device, and dismounted soldier will have the capability for situational awareness and be able to engage and execute close combat in all levels of illumination, adverse weather, and battlefield-obscurant conditions. The LCTI-M program seeks new opportunities for homeland security and commercial applications.
The goal of LCTI-M is to develop a wafer scale manufacturing process that will result in a camera on a chip, making thermal imagers affordable, accessible, and ubiquitous to every warfighter. The objectives are to: 1) demonstrate wafer scale imager modules with a yield greater than 80 percent; 2) reduce cost by more than 10X; 3) reduce form-factor that is suitable for handheld platforms; and 4) demonstrate pixel scalability to 12 microns while maintaining state-of-art performance. Significant transition opportunities are available in soldier systems, such as helmet-mounted infrared; battlefield coordination and intelligence using handheld device connectivity; identification of target signatures and identify friend or foe - all leading to a new paradigm in tactical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Additionally, low cost IR camera products may provide widespread use in platforms for persistent surveillance.