1. The "Third Eye" of Night Fighting

From ancient times to the present, battles have often been fought at night. Using night vision technologies such as low-light enhancement and infrared thermal imaging,

 combat troops can break through the barriers of night and gain the freedom to fight at night. After soldiers, tanks, ships, aircraft and other equipment are equipped 

with night vision equipment, the effective combat time can be greatly extended.

-Ground armored vehicles under night vision goggles-

1) Low light enhancement amplification

Low-light night vision devices have become the most widely used type of night vision devices in the military of various countries due to their simple principle, good ima-

ge quality and low cost. They are basically based on the third and fourth generation tube low-light night vision technology, such as the mainstream night vision devices 

of the US military special forces AN/PVS-31 and GPNVG-18 that use the third generation film-free white phosphorus enhanced tube; equipped in France , Germany and 

other European armies’ LUCIE night vision devices are all low-light night vision devices.

-Schematic diagram of the structure and principle of low-light night vision device-

Low-light night vision equipment, also known as image intensification technology, actually enhances and amplifies the electronic signals of tiny light sources to make them visible. In an extremely low-brightness environment, the image intensifier can be used to illuminate objects with weak light such as moonlight or starlight or emit infrared detection light. The light reflected by the object is amplified by the image intensifier and converted into an image that can be clearly observed by the human eye, thereby achieving Observe the target at night. Therefore, the image intensifier tube is a key component of the low-light night vision device, and its quality directly determines the effect of the night vision device.

Although low-light night vision devices are easy to use, they are not very effective when used on cloudy days, pitch black, no light or smoke conditions. This is when higher-end infrared thermal imaging night vision devices come in handy.

2) Infrared heat radiation is everywhere

Light is a kind of electromagnetic wave. Our naked eyes can only see the world between 400-600nm in electromagnetic waves. Human beings lack the visual ability to 

visually perceive temperature. The non-visible light with a wavelength ratio between 760-1000nm is called infrared (IR). ). In our lives, whether it is biology or machinery, 

even ice, all emit thermal energy, and the wavelength of thermal radiation is in the infrared band.

-Electromagnetic spectrum-

Similar to cameras that image visible light, thermal imagers are devices that image infrared rays by passively receiving radiation from the target without actively emitting signals. According to the different infrared intensities radiated by different objects, the thermal imager is first used to obtain the thermal radiation information of the target, and the target object is identified based on the difference in infrared rays radiated by the target object and the background object.

The real advantage of thermal imaging lies in target observation and identification. As long as the target's surface emissivity is different from the background, or it has its own temperature, thermal imaging can easily distinguish the target through the temperature difference. For example, thermal imaging in the woods can only see Even if they are covered by grass or other things, as long as a little shadow is exposed, the user can detect them with infrared and low light. It's very difficult to do.

3) Super CP-composite night vision solution

Of course, the thermal imager is not omnipotent. Since it relies on temperature differences to image, the image contrast is low, and the target cannot be seen clearly 

through obstacles such as glass.

Thermal imaging also has its own disadvantages over infrared low-light. Thermal imaging relies on the surface temperature of the target to distinguish the target, and 

the surface temperature is affected by the surface material of the object. The emissivity varies greatly. If a large number of objects with small surface temperature differ-

ences are piled up in the picture, the thermal imaging will be difficult to distinguish, which will cause the picture to become blurred. group. For example, it is difficult to 

distinguish the details of these scenery with thermal imaging. If you only rely on thermal imaging to operate at night, it will easily fail on uneven ground.

-Fusion contour imaging effect of enhanced night vision goggles-

So the composite night vision device that integrates low-light night vision goggles and infrared thermal imaging comes on the scene. Take the fourth-generation American AN/PVS-21 binocular night vision device as an example. Its dual lenses give it two optical channels, which can The infrared imaging and low-light imaging of the target are processed and superimposed. Even in a completely light-free environment, the infrared image of the heat source emitted by the enemy can be seen through the camouflage.

2. All-weather autonomous driving that will drive the future

As the technological commanding heights of the next stage, thermal imaging cameras will also play an important driving role in the development of autonomous driving

 in the future. Many companies are trying to obtain true autonomous driving technology and redefine cars by exploring different solutions.

-Car infrared night vision cameras can help drivers perceive the road environment-

At this stage, autonomous driving technology is dominated by perception solutions based on laser radar and visual sensors. The basic idea is to use different sensors to 

"fill in the blindness" of each other to achieve better overall effects. However, at night or under extreme weather conditions, both sensors have certain physical limitations,

 which indirectly results in the inability of autonomous driving technology to be used in corresponding scenarios.

Fully autonomous driving in a broad sense requires all-weather driving capabilities - which means that the vehicle needs to have situational awareness capabilities beyond

 that of humans, which cannot be separated from the information input by the thermal imager mode in various scenarios.

Some mainstream autonomous driving research institutions have confirmed that due to the introduction of thermal radiation information from objects, the thermal imagi-

ng system installed on the car can detect objects that cannot be identified by visual sensors and lidar, and can efficiently and stably identify pedestrians and vehicles. and 

other objects to better integrate with the radar modal.

Essentially, it abandons the color information of objects that is of little use for autonomous driving, and focuses on the texture information of objects. The introduction of 

thermal imaging mode can fundamentally improve the system's detection capabilities at night and in rainy and foggy conditions, and give the system more information 

redundancy, reducing accidents.