Diffraction, Ltd — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: A12-042

Description

In Phase 2, Diffraction LTD, in collaboration with Optics 1, proposes to develop a variable magnification clip-on thermal imager (VM-COTI) that will be compatible with a variety of weapon and head mounted optical systems ranging from 1X night vision goggles (NVGs) to 5X ACOG scopes. The VM-COTI will be a flexible design that can be used as a clip-on fusing full field of view thermal imagery with its host system or standalone as a handheld, weapon mounted, or head mounted fused thermal/direct view imager with 5X zoom capability. The VM-COTI will use a zoom thermal objective lens and a variable focal length eyepiece to match both the magnification and field of view of various host systems. Optics 1s modular eyepiece technology will enable rapid reconfiguration of the VM-COTI from short eye relief for compatibility with NVGs and weapon sights to long eye relief for use with red dot or holographic sights or for standalone use. Both 320 x 240 and 640 x 480 thermal cores will be offered. A sophisticated video processor will enable white hot/black hot, outline mode, and enhanced thermal beacon detection. Three prototypes will be delivered for customer test and evaluation.