Looking to the future

A new generation of thermal imaging technology offering much higher resolution and sensitivity is to be developed by a UK research team comprising engineers from Qinetiq, Thales UK, Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems.

The MoD has awarded the team an £8.45m, two-year contract to develop three different thermal imagers to be used on future military platforms, such as Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) — the Army's next-generation suite of vehicles.

Heralded as the third generation of thermal imaging cameras, the technology uses a matrix of more than a quarter of a million tiny infrared detectors. This array will allow the camera to provide an image that is more than twice as sensitive as any existing thermal imaging camera, according to Peter Dennis, Qinetiq's project leader.

'Third generation thermal imaging will revolutionise the industry in much the same way as digital cameras changed conventional photography,' he said. 'It works in much the same way. The matrix of detectors cover the whole field of view and detect it all in one go, each tiny sensor picking out a separate point in the field of view.'