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SA Photonics high-res digital night vision system makes you look like Hello Kitty's cyborg cousin

Given, it might make you look like the love child of Robocop and a cartoon kitten, but SA Photonics' High Resolution Night Vision System (HRNVS) could mean smoother night flights for the US military. The light weight head mounted display couples high resolution imagery and an impressive 82.5 degree field of vision -- previous devices offered a range of only 40 degrees. What's more, it provides clearer peripheral vision, virtually non-existent halo effects, digital image enhancement, and night vision recording. The headset was designed in collaboration with the US Army and the Air Force Research Laboratory, which means these robo Sanrio helmets might actually get some play. Full PR after the break.


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SA Photonics Develops an Advanced Digital Night Vision System

LOS GATOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SA Photonics has developed the High Resolution Night Vision System (HRNVS), a wide field of view digital night vision head mounted display for use by commercial and military pilots of fixed-wing airplanes and rotorcraft.

"HRNVS advances the state of the art of night vision goggles and head mounted displays and will provide a significant improvement in nighttime situational awareness."

Night vision has been a key enabling technology for the U.S. military for more than 30 years, allowing U.S. pilots to "own the night" and fly after dark missions in relative safety. This dominance of the nighttime environment has often been the decisive factor in battlefield victory. Yet there remain substantial shortcomings to night vision systems, including low resolution digital displays and constrained field of view. Surveys of U.S. Air Force pilots have found that the most frequently requested improvement for night vision goggles is a larger field of view.

SA Photonics, a leading developer of optics solutions for the military, is leveraging its experience with night vision and head mounted displays with the HRNVS, which provides pilots high resolution night vision imagery and over 82.5 degree field of view, more than double the field of view of most existing night vision systems. The HRNVS has other advantages compared to existing systems, such as reduced peripheral obscuration, reduced forward projection and swept volume, zero-halo, and the capabilities for digital image enhancement, recording night vision imagery and overlaying symbology.

"At SA Photonics, we are serious about improving pilot safety while increasing performance in both commercial and military cockpits," said Dr. Michael Browne, SA Photonics' Vice President of Product Development. "HRNVS advances the state of the art of night vision goggles and head mounted displays and will provide a significant improvement in nighttime situational awareness."

The HRNVS system was developed in a partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Army's Night Vision Laboratory and Vision Systems International. Dr. Browne is presenting the HRNVS at the 2011 SPIE Defense, Security and Sensing Symposium in Orlando on Thursday, April 28th.