Mini Thermal Imager

The Mini Thermal Imager is a dual field of view, lightweight, hand-held/helmet mountable, pocketsized
thermal imaging system. The MTI will increase the ability of the user to detect enemy threats at increased
ranges and surfaces in all environmental conditions, with video capabilities. The MTI will contain an integrated
(Class 1) eye-safe infrared laser pointer and a user selectable reticle.
TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Objective Lens 32 mm; Field of View 29.00 deg diagonal; Weight (w/ battery) 11.5 oz; Power Source DL123A Lithium (two needed); Length 5 in. Width 2.8 oz Height 2.2 in.

MAJOR COMPONENTS
1 Bag, Carrying, Softcase, 1 Video Cable, 1 Quick Reference Card, 1 Neck Cord, 1 Night Adaptive Filter/Demist Shield, 1 Battery, 2 DL123A Lithium, 1 Memory Stick, 1 Eye Cup - Removable
ASSOCIATED COMPONENTS
• Helmet Adapter • Lens, Tissue • Mounting Bracket

Thermal Weapon Sight (TWS)

All objects, both natural and manmade, emit infrared energy as heat. By detecting very subtle temperature differences of everything in view, infrared (or thermal imaging) technology reveals what otherwise would be invisible to the naked eye. Even in complete darkness and challenging weather conditions, thermal imaging gives users the ability to see the unseen.

First developed for military purposes, thermal imaging has since been adopted by law enforcement, fire and rescue teams and security professionals. This technology can be used to detect approaching people or vehicles, to track the footsteps of a fugitive or to learn why a fire resists extinguishment. An electro-optic detector absorbs electromagnetic radiation and outputs an electrical signal that is usually proportional to the irradiance (intensity of the incident electromagnetic radiation). Depending on the type of detector and the way in which it is operated, the output signal can be either a voltage or a current. Radiation at specific wavelengths or within relatively narrow spectral bands can be generated electrically. Short wavelength radiation such as x-rays can be preferentially generated by accelerating electrons to high energy and having them rapidly decelerate by striking a target. Light emitting and laser diodes emit radiation at particular wavelengths by causing electron transitions between specific energy levels of the diode semiconducting material.An electro optical infrared detector absorbs electromagnetic radiation and outputs an electrical signal that is typically proportional to the radiance (intensity of the incident electromagnetic radiation). Depending on the type of infrared detector and its operation, the output signal can be either voltage or supplied current.

Fusion Technology - Best of Thermal, IR and Night Vision

Thermal weapon sights and infrared scopes for rifles and other MIL-STD-1913 picatinny rail equipped weapons for forward-looking infrared (FLIR) target acquisition and long range use.

How Thermal Works

NITEHOG thermal infrared weapon scopes are manufactured to very strict standards. Performance measurements are listed for specific target acquisition and detection using NATO-standard performance charts and calulations. These sights provide superior imaging capability in environments where night vision cannot perform. NITEHOG thermal and infrared products are precision electro-optical instruments and are available to local, state and federal agencies as well as all branches of the United States Military. They are also available to US citizens for purchase within the United States. All systems are subject to strict compliance with all relevant laws and export restrictions.

Thermal Imaging in the US Military

Well known for the development of the “night vision goggles,” the Army Materiel Command (AMC) Research Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM), Communications-Electronics Research Development and Engineering Center’s (CERDEC) Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) does more than just make goggles.

In the late 1960’s real-time thermal imaging technology started to show promise to providing long range detection and recognition capability at night.  For more than 40 years, NVESD has continuously conducted advanced exploratory research with a focus to provide Soldiers with the necessary sensor technology and innovative products to gain the advantage of being able to maneuver effectively under the cover of darkness.
More than a hundred years after a German-born British astronomer discovered what is now called infrared or thermal energy, NVESD’s research focuses on further exploring and expanding the utilities of this phenomenology.  In its early existence, the laboratory’s scientists and engineers saw the potential use for this technology in military applications. 

Although some historians feel that the discovery was accidental, its significance led to a variety of technologies to include thermal imaging.

Thermal energy became an imaging technology in the years just following World War II.  Forward Looking Infrared, or FLIR, technology originated as a sensor system for fighter aircraft.  Thermal imaging systems, imagery produced by measuring and recording electronically the thermal radiation of objects, became much in demand for all weapon system platforms.

Infrared imaging sensors or FLIRs have become the sensor of choice day or night for most combat platforms, air and ground. FLIR systems have become a real influence on the battlefield and were used during the initial invasion of Iraq, where there was significant night fighting.

FLIR systems are designed to operate at one of two wavelengths – 3 to 5 microns (mid-wave infrared) or 8 to 12 microns (long-wave infrared) – or atmospheric windows where water vapor in the air is less of an issue. In layman terms, FLIR technology senses heat emitted by a person or an object.  Incorporated into a sophisticated optical system, this technology provides greater stand-off range and reduces the Warfighter’s exposure time.

Sensor systems that utilize FLIR technology to provide the advantage of seeing not only at night but also through smoke, fog and other obscured battlefield conditions. Early attempts at this type of battlefield sensing produced sensors that were large and mounted in a fixed position facing forward – thus the name “Forward Looking.”  

Operation Desert Storm as well as current US efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan has substantiated beyond any doubt that night vision technology was, and continues to be, the force multiplier.  Targeting systems using FLIR technology were particularly important to the major weapon systems due to their ability to see through dense smoke, dust, fog, and haze, at great distances.

Over the years, we have experienced a paradigm shift in the development and manufacturing of sensor components.

Today, infrared sensors have become the sensor of choice for several combat platforms including tanks, troop movers, and tactical aircrafts. The development of uncooled infrared has paved the way for FLIR imagers to be smaller, more compact, and cheaper, allowing the individual Soldier and unmanned platforms to take advantage of the technolgies.

Since its inception, the directorate has actively pursued domestic technology transfer and has compounded the use of the nation’s most advanced technology, to incorporate the health and medical fields.

Today, medical professionals on the battlefield are utilize FLIR technology to help save lives.  Military doctors and nurses are employing a FLIR device to help diagnose severe conditions like Acute Compartment Syndrome. Medical personnel are able to determine the presence or a impediment of blood flow in the extremities of wounded personnel.  This valuable information helps to prioritize the wounded for immediate evacuation and treatment.

In the future we will see intelligent sensor systems that utilize advanced Focal Plane Array (FPA) technology that can see farther and penetrate all aspects of the dirty battlefield. This will be made possible through an innovative technique known as Dual Band Focal Plane Array Manufacturing (DBFM).  These large formats, dual band staring FPAs will allow the operator to select to operate simultaneously in the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) and long-wave infrared (LWIR) regions.

The payoff of this revolutionary breakthrough will give the Warfighter a combat overmatch.  The paradigm shift that this technology bringswill enable the Soldier to fire upon his adversaries without being seen.  This technology will allow the Warfighter to identify the threat before the enemy can even detect our soldiers presence, resulting in increased survivability by being able to rapidly search wide areas while on-the-move, and reduced crew burden due to aided search and detection for surveillance tasks and difficult targets. 

As our sensor technology matures, the current path forward will lead to the miniaturization of components and sensor packages. The sensor package you see today on larger, tactical vehicles will be combined in small miniaturized gimbals that can be placed on remote-controlled ground and air platforms.

Throughout the course of history, military combat has generally been a daylight activity because the human eye was never designed to operate effectively during the hours of darkness. Operations at night have always been degraded significantly, if not totally avoided. Typically, soldiers fighting at night have had to resort to artificial illumination, e.g., fire first and/or light sources, (such as searchlights) later.

Night operations have always been hazardous to conduct and difficult to control.  Unimpaired vision is indispensable to the performance of all military tasks required of Soldiers and their commanders. Today, much of this has changed, and night operations are not only feasible but have been demonstrated time and time again on the battlefield.

The advent of new technologies, initially in the 1950's and continuing into the present time has changed this situation.  The engineers and scientists at the Night Vision & Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) have discovered ways to capture available electro-magnetic radiation outside the portion of the light spectrum visible to the human eye.

In our state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities, we conduct advanced research and component development resulting in the production of low risk sensors and sensor suite platforms to support ground combat, aviation pilotage and countermine missions.

Since the conclusion of World War II and into the early 1950s, US military tacticians began to explore the advantages of covertly illuminating the battlefield and gain superiority in operating during the darkness of night and decreased visibility.

Further exploring technology initially developed in the 1930s, engineers and scientists at the US Army RDECOM CERDEC Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate have worked diligently to improve that technology enabling our Soldiers to fight as superiorly at night as during the day.

For over 40 years we have provided our Warfighters with the most advanced solutions with the goals of maintaining a tactical edge which leads to total domination on the modern battlefield.
The success of our research and development efforts is deeply rooted in the technical expertise of our personnel, an established reputation and ongoing relationship with the Warfighter, and our outward looking philosophy.  And the SUCCESS continues.

NVESD is at the epicenter of championing innovative night vision technologies focused on thermal imaging (uncooled infrared detectors, 2nd and 3rd generation Forward Looking Infrared) image intensification, countermine/counter IED, and lasers.

Technical efforts at NVESD will result in the development of imaging systems that will advance the war fighting capabilities of US and Allied Forces around the world. 

On the horizon are platform centric sensor suites that will improve situational awareness and allow closed-hatched hemispherical vision.  These systems, designed for ground and air platforms, will provide near 360° vision integrated with threat cueing, video capturing and cueing interrogation.

The ultimate goal of night vision technology is to improve Soldier's way of life by providing affordable lightweight sensors that will lighten the Soldiers’ load, improve survivability and increase lethality.

As the US Forces transition into fighting an asymmetrical war in urban environments, FLIR technology will be developed and positioned in a manner that will greatly improve situational awareness for both air and ground platforms.

The UL3 Sensor is an ultra low power, low volume and low weight thermal imager. The image collecting Uncooled Focal Plane Array (UFPA) is a Long Wavelength Infrared (LWIR) 160x120 array with microbolometer detectors. The camera is not only unique in its size and power but also in its UFPA stabilization method, which does not use a TE cooler as is typically done in other models. The camera may be used in applications such as unmanned vehicles, minefield surveillance, monitoring high crime areas, firefighting, border surveillance, automatic teller machines, robotics and facility and building security.

The intent of the camera in surveillance applications is to minimize manpower and provide twenty-four hour watch over critical facilities. It will be used around facility perimeters and provide constant watch and a remote alert when there is an attempted intrusion of the facility.

The Long Range Advanced Scout Surveillance System (LRAS3) provides U.S. Army armor and infantry scout platoons with a long-range reconnaissance and surveillance sensor system whose capability is significantly enhanced, as compared to the previously fielded AN/TAS-6, Night Observation Device, Long Range (NODLR). The LRAS3 permits scouts to detect targets at ranges in excess of three times beyond the NODLR system's capabilities.  This additional standoff capability enables scouts to operate well outside the range of currently fielded threat direct fire and sensor systems. The system's line-of-sight, multi-sensor suite provides real-time target detection, recognition, and identification capability to the scout with 24-hour and adverse-weather operation.  The LRAS3 also determines far-target location coordinates and can operate in both mounted and dismounted configurations. 

The LRAS3 consists of a Second-Generation Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) with long-range optics, an eyesafe laser rangefinder, a day video camera, and a Global Positioning System (GPS) with attitude determination. It can export far-target location coordinates to FBCB2.

Thermal Terminology

NUC (Non Uniformity Correction)
Each pixel of the matrix is generating a signal, but different from other pixels signals in the same conditions of observation. This non uniformity leads to some noise artifacts in the picture. This phenomenon is highly expressed in non cooled systems. Therefore it is necessary to be done periodically non uniformity correction (NUC) when the sight is in operating mode. Current infrared focal point arraysare fundamentally limited by their inability to calibrate out component variations. Fixed pattern noise caused by the nonuniform response of the sensors gives the uncorrected images a white-noise-degraded appearance. Nonuniformity correction (NUC) techniques have been developed and implemented to perform the necessary calibration for most IR sensing applications. NUC-algorithm can be activated manually via pressing the button N or automatically, after a set period of time. When holding the button for more than 2 seconds the algorithm is deactivated. NUC is commonly known as activating the “shutter” on thermal systems to refresh the thermal scene.

Image Inversion (Polarity)
In certain scenes of observation is necessary to invert the image colors from white-hot to black-hot and vice versa. Thus can be detected so far undetected fragments and details, merging with the background of the scene, and as well as to improve observation comfort.