Firefly: A HOT camera core for thermal imagers with enhanced functionality

Luke Pillans; Jack Harmer; Tim Edwards

doi:10.1117/12.2176544

4 June 2015 Firefly: A HOT camera core for thermal imagers with enhanced functionality

Luke Pillans, Jack Harmer, Tim Edwards

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9451, Infrared Technology and Applications XLI; 945111 (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2176544
Event: SPIE Defense + Security, 2015, Baltimore, MD, United States

Abstract

Raising the operating temperature of mercury cadmium telluride infrared detectors from 80K to above 160K creates new applications for high performance infrared imagers by vastly reducing the size, weight and power consumption of the integrated cryogenic cooler. Realizing the benefits of Higher Operating Temperature (HOT) requires a new kind of infrared camera core with the flexibility to address emerging applications in handheld, weapon mounted and UAV markets. This paper discusses the Firefly core developed to address these needs by Selex ES in Southampton UK. Firefly represents a fundamental redesign of the infrared signal chain reducing power consumption and providing compatibility with low cost, low power Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) computing technology. This paper describes key innovations in this signal chain: a ROIC purpose built to minimize power consumption in the proximity electronics, GPU based image processing of infrared video, and a software customisable infrared core which can communicate wirelessly with other Battlespace systems.

Citation Download Citation

Luke Pillans, Jack Harmer, and Tim Edwards "Firefly: A HOT camera core for thermal imagers with enhanced functionality", Proc. SPIE 9451, Infrared Technology and Applications XLI, 945111 (4 June 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2176544

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