Night Vision Technology

          Night vision technology, literally allows one to see in the dark. It is originally developed for military use .Humans have poor night vision compared to many other animals.With the proper night-vision equipment, we can see a person standing over 200 yards (183 m) away on a moonless, cloudy night. 

     

• Types of Night Vision device:

        1) Image intensification (light amplification) and

        2) Thermal imaging(infrared).

•  IMAGE ENHANCEMENT  COMPONENTS

1.     Front lens                                                     
2.     Photo cathode
3.     Micro Channel Plate
4.     High Voltage Power Supply
5.      Phosphor Screen
6.      Eyepiece
7.      Image Intensifier 

   v  IMAGE INTENSIFICATION

•      It is also called light amplification                                                                                           

•       It is less expensive than thermal

•    Light amplification technology takes the small amount of light, such as moonlight or starlight, that is in the surrounding area, and converts the light energy (scientists call it photons), into electrical energy (electrons).

•      These electrons pass through a thin disk that's about the size of a quarter and contains over 10 million channels.

•     As the electrons travel through and strike the walls of the channels, thousands more electrons are released.

•     These multiplied electrons then bounce off of a phosphor screen which converts the electrons back into photons and lets you see an impressive nighttime view even when it's really dark.  

 v     THERMAL IMAGING

    SPECIFICATIONS

   

•  Scan 30 times per sec.

•  Sense temperature ranging  from -20 to 2,000 degree Celsius.

•  It shows a very minute difference of as small as 0.1 degree Celsius from more than 1,000 ft away. 

      v  TYPES OF THERMAL IMAGING DEVICES

           

 v       GENERATION OF NVT:

1.   Generation 0
2.    Generation 1
3. —   Generation 2
4.   Generation 3
5.   Generation 4 

Generation 0

• The earliest (1950's) night vision products were based on image conversion, rather than intensification.
     
  
  
    

 Generation 1

•      Vacuum Tube Technology
•      Full Moon Operation
•      Amplification: 1,000
•      Operating Life: 2,000 Hours

       Generation 2

•      First Micro channel Plate  Application
•      One-Quarter Moon Operation
•      Amplification: 20,000
•      Operating Life: 2,500 Hours 

       Generation 3

•      Improved Micro channel Plate  & Photo cathode
•      Starlight Operation
•      Amplification: 40,000
•      Operating Life: 10,000 Hour

       Generation 4

•      Generation 4 has less noise than generation 3, however it has shorter life.

     Improvements

•    MCP & Photo cathode
•      Starlight Operation
•      Amplification: 40,000
•      Operating Life: 10,000 Hour

         APPLICATIONS

• • Military
•           Law enforcement
•           Hunting 
•           Wildlife observation
•           Surveillance
•           Security
•           Navigation
•           Hidden-object detection Entertainment 

                                                                                    

v     NIGHT VISION DEVICES

• SCOPES :     They are monocular normally handheld or mounted on a weapon.
• GOGGLES:  They are binocular and  worn on the head.
• CAMERAS:  Used for transmission or recording of images mostly if the location is      fixed.

v  FUTURE ASPECTS

  

     1.The Army is pushing NVT into the digital aspects. Future NV goggles are being designed  not just to see better at night but also to allow soldiers to share images of what they see with other soldiers who may be miles away.

    2. Technologists are working to meet the challenges of the Army, which includes their requirements for power of capture, size  and weight of equipment.