The cost of thermal imaging technology has, up until now, precluded its widespread use in sensor systems which require sensors to be deployed in very large numbers. This paper describes a method of achieving this goal of bringing low-cost 'disposable' thermal imaging into the dismounted military environment. Infrared detectors based on the manufacturing processes used in the production of conventional silicon chips offer a breakthrough in cost compared to other technologies. Despite having modest performance, this technology offers a route towards a very cost-effective thermal imaging sensor for dismounted applications. A flexible detector format which permits the detector to operate as a conventional close-packed 2-d array or as a faster update linear array gives the opportunity for performance optimisation and data reduction at the sensor, important attributes for a remotely deployed sensor with limited power resources. This paper describes a sensor architecture which is well matched to the cost, power consumption, and performance levels suited to short-range dismounted and networked operations, and demonstrates some of the imaging capability achievable with such a simple (and hence potentially extremely low cost) sensor.
Acoustic sensors have been the primary sensor of choice for many UGS network concepts. This is primarily due to their low cost, non line of sight performance and the fact that most targets of interest are noisy. This paper explores the benefits to be gained by attaching additional sensors to an acoustic sensor network to provide extra information. A methodology is described to assess the cost of acquiring a certain level of information and this is used to explore the context in which the sensor network is operated. It is demonstrated that the optimum choice of sensors is dependent on the target set and the information required from the network. The potential benefits of a 'plug and play' sensor suite are examined in the context of using this concept for targeting.
The cost of thermal imaging technology has, up until now, precluded its use in networked sensor systems which require sensors to be deployed in very large numbers. Detectors based on the manufacturing processes used in the production of conventional silicon chips offer a breakthrough in cost compared to other technologies. Despite having modest performance, this technology offers a route toward a very cost-effective thermal imaging sensor for networked applications, where the limited performance of each individual sensor is less significant due to the advantage given by large numbers of sensors covering the target area. By carefully optimising the detector format, this low-cost technology is able to achieve useful performance at short ranges which are suited to a networked sensor system.
The advent of uncooled thermal imaging has produced an order-of-magnitude reduction in the cost of thermal imaging compared to first-generation cooled systems. To reach a truly mass market, this process needs to be continued. One of the key cost constraints is the specialist nature of the sensitive material used in infrared detectors. This paper describes thermal imaging technology which can be entirely manufactured in a silicon IC foundry on a standard CMOS process. As a result the detector cost in volume production is extremely low. Careful optimisation of the other system components such as packaging, optics, and signal processing maintains this low-cost approach, giving a predicted production cost well below $100.
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