'Bug Eye' to give troops better night vision.Byline: London Frontline front·line also front line n. 1. A front or boundary, especially one between military, political, or ideological positions. 2. Basketball See frontcourt. 3. Football The linemen of a team. troops will soon be able to see better in the dark using a revolutionary new optical technology 'Bug Eye' that's modelled on the eye of a tiny parasitic par·a·sit·ic or par·a·sit·i·cal adj. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a parasite. 2. Caused by a parasite. Parasitic Of, or relating to a parasite. fly, said engineers at BAE Systems BAE Systems British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, naval vessels, and other aerospace and defense products. BAE Systems was formed (1999) from the merger of British Aerospace (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems. . The BAE team has developed the new 'bug eye' technology following several months of research examining the eye mechanisms of the Xenos peckii -- a parasitic fly that lives on a wasp. The tiny bug has 50 separate lenses in each eye. Each lens produces an individual image, which are meshed together to form a single large panoramic pan·o·ram·a n. 1. An unbroken view of an entire surrounding area. 2. A comprehensive presentation; a survey: a panorama of American literature. 3. image in its brain, they said. Scientists have recreated this effect in the new imaging device, which includes nine lenses -- each about the size of a mobile phone camera lens -- arranged on a curved surface. The device provides a 60 degree field of view for a helmet mounted device and is both compact and lightweight giving troops much better manoeuvrability Noun 1. manoeuvrability - the quality of being maneuverable maneuverability mobility - the quality of moving freely weatherliness - (of a sailing vessel) the quality of being able to sail close to the wind with little drift to the leeward (even in a and situational awareness Situation awareness or situational awareness [1] (SA) is the mental representation and understanding of objects, events, people, system states, interactions, environmental conditions, and other situation-specific factors affecting human performance in during night time missions, the team said. Leslie Laycock, executive scientist at BAE Systems, said: 'There's a requirement to reduce the size and weight of night vision goggles goggles, n the protective eyewear worn by dental personnel and patients during dental procedures. goggles see periocular leukotrichia. -- and to achieve a wider field of view. Night time missions are an essential part of today's military operations This is a list of missions, operations, and projects. Missions in support of other missions are not listed independently. World War I ''See also List of military engagements of World War I
'Most the size and weight of a conventional lens is due to the glass -- the actual optics. So, when we were thinking of ways to miniaturise v. t. 1. miniaturize. Verb 1. miniaturise - design or construct on a smaller scale miniaturize shrink, reduce - reduce in size; reduce physically; "Hot water will shrink the sweater"; "Can you shrink this image?" the equipment, we looked at insects because they have tiny optics in their eyes, which provide high quality images.' 'The compound eyes of insects can often contain up to hundreds of thousands of tiny lenses. We didn't want to go to that level of complexity, but found the Xenos peckii with 50 larger lenses, which provided the high resolution and sensitivity that we required,' Laycock added. The research into the technology was funded by an MoD programme designed to reduce the size and weight of imaging equipment used in a variety of military applications. The 'bug eye' system is now being developed for missile tracking systems as well as night vision equipment. Existing missile guidance devices can only achieve about 20 degree field of vision -- this means that the camera has to be attached to a mechanical mount and swivelled around to scan wide areas. The insect-inspired technology provides the tracking system with 120 degree field of vision eliminating the need for accompanying hardware, which helps to minimise size and weight, while reducing maintenance costs. Away from the military arena, the technology could help to improve security in public places by developing CCTV CCTV abbr. closed-circuit television CCTV closed-circuit television cameras that could survey panoramas of crowded spaces without any of the usual black spots associated with such systems. The multiple lenses could also zoom in on certain areas of a scene without affecting the rest of the image on the screen. In the future, it could also be used in the medical field for key hole surgery, though this will require the scientists to shrink the system, which can currently be held in the palm of a hand, even further.- TradeArabia News Service Copyright 2008 www.tradearabia.com Copyright 2009 Al Hilal Publishing & Marketing Group Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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