Light, slim battlefield camera coming soon

Danger Room:

Troops and unmanned aircraft could be the first to benefit from a new smart, ultra-slim camera technology which combines the images from many low-resolution sensors to create a high-resolution picture. Known as Panoptes, it promises lightweight, flat cameras with the power of a big lens in a device just five millimeters thick. It’s being developed by Professor Marc Christensen at Southern Methodist University, with funding from Darpa. Planned applications include sensors for miniature drones and helmet-cams for soldiers.

A key feature of the system is that is made up of a large number of tiny imagers. These are small, simple cameras, each directed independently by a MEMS-controlled micro-mirror. Because there is no large lens, Pantoptes can be made flat, unlike other cameras.

A central processor combines the images into a single picture, producing a higher resolution than the individual imagers. The intelligence is in the way that the system identifies areas of interest and concentrates the sub-imagers on the relevant part of the scene. Christensen gives the example of the Panoptes system looking at a building in a field.

“After a first frame or two was collected, the system could identify that certain areas, like the open field, had nothing of interest, whereas other areas, like the license plate of a car parked outside or peering in the windows, had details that were not sufficiently resolved,” he tells Danger Room. “In the next frame, subimagers that had been interrogating the field would be steered to aid in the imaging of the license plate and windows, thereby extracting the additional information.”

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The current goal is to demonstrate an imager five millimeters thick, weighing tens of grams. Because the cameras are flat, the professor says, they can be carried where other sensors cannot -– such as all over the surface of an unmanned aircraft. Because the system is adaptive and can focus on areas of interest, it combines a very wide field of vision with high resolution, without the need for a bulky zoom lens.

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Eventually, the project could lead to a kind of wide-angle helmet cam. Linked to the right image-processing software, it could be a life-saver, keeping a constant lookout in all directions for possible threats. Darpa is already pursing a similar approach to try to spot RPGs before they are fired.

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Lighter and smaller is good. It will make it easier for troops to use it without fatigue. It will mean the UAVs can stay on station longer because they will be using less fuel to stay aloft because of the lighter weight. I think they could also be used for civilian surviellance cameras that use less power and are harder to spot.