Image sensors from e2v help NASA to study Pluto
Charge-coupled-device (CCD) imaging sensors from e2v technologies in Elmsford, N.Y., are in space with NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto. The sensors, incorporated into the spacecraft’s Ralph and LORRI science instruments, will help to provide image data on the planet. New Horizons will collect information on the surface, composition, and atmosphere of Pluto and its orbital companion Charon. Experts at e2v technologies supplied 27 CCDs for the spacecraft’s Ralph instrument, five of which were flight devices. These sensors will enable high-resolution mapping of Pluto and Charon’s surfaces. The visible and infrared Ralph spectrometer will provide composition, color and thermal maps for scientific analysis. Further e2v sensors in the telescopic camera LORRI, the spacecraft’s long-range reconnaissance imager, will help to provide high resolution and detailed images of Pluto, its large moon Charon, and its two newly discovered smaller moons. Such scientific studies will provide world-first information on the Kuiper Belt planets, which survive billions of miles away from the sun. New Horizons is the pioneer space mission in the NASA New Frontiers program. The robotic space flight mission will span the solar system on its one-way journey, reaching Pluto for flyby investigations in 2015. En route, a flyby at Jupiter early next year will enable a practice science run to be carried out, in preparation for the Pluto assignment. Instrument observations will be transmitted back to Earth during the spacecraft’s journey of the outer solar system. For more information contact e2v online at www.e2v.com.
Jenoptik Laser names Coastal Optical Systems as North American distributor
Jenoptik Laser Optik Systeme GmbH in Jena, Germany, is naming Coastal Optical Systems Inc. in West Palm Beach, Fla., as the company’s North American distributor. Coastal Optical is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jenoptik Laser. Jenoptik’s VarioCAM, VarioTHERM, and VARIOSCAN infrared cameras cover the entire spectral region from near infrared to far infrared. They are available as user-friendly, handheld thermography cameras and can be implemented as modular tools for stationary system use. The VarioCAM, an uncooled camera model, is for applications requiring high image resolution with real-time video capability in the long-wave IR spectral region. To support its camera sales efforts, Coastal Optical Systems will create the web portal www.jenoptik-ir.com. For questions e-mail the company at [email protected].
High-performance IR camera for demanding applications
The Silver 660M from Cedip Infrared Systems in Croissy Beaubourg, France, is for users who need to perform thermal imaging at high spatial resolution with high sensitivity and accuracy. The camera integrates Cedip’s proprietary cooled indium antimonide staring focal plane array detector with ROIC technology. The result is a 640-by-512-pixel cooled IR camera that delivers 100 Hz full frame rate while maintaining linearity, resolution, and sensitivity. Packaged in a rugged aluminum housing the Silver 660M comes with temperature sensors for precise radiometric measurements. Dissipating heat by conduction, dust incursion is not a problem to the Silver 660M. The Silver 660M is programmable from 1 to 100 Hz in full- frame mode, offers a subarray windowing mode with integration time adjustable in 1-microsecond increments, and smart external triggering capability synchronizing image capture. The Silver 660M offers plug and play compatibility with standard computers as well as third-party frame grabbers and image processing software. Using either CAMLINK or USB 2.0 interfaces the camera can transmit commands and transfer video images at 40 MHz pixel rate and 14-bit dynamic range. Image analysis software for thermal measurement is included. For more information contact Cedip Infrared Systems online at www.cedip-infrared.com.
Video camera shoots high-resolution video at 15 frames per second
The AV5100 2592-by-1944-pixel digital video camera from Premier Electronics Ltd. in Waltham Cross, England, provides high-resolution video at 15 frames per second, which enables the AV5100 to substitute as many as 12 analog cameras. Power comes from a power-over-Ethernet switch. The AV5100 is based on proprietary massively-parallel MegaVideo image-processing technology. Advanced features include concurrent transmission of different frame formats and simultaneous delivery of several zoomed and full field of view video streams at full frame rates. The software also allows for post-event zoom-in capability from archived footage, concurrent full field of view, and high-quality zoom. Also offered is instantaneous pan and tilt for tracking of fast-moving targets. For more information contact Premiere Electronics online at www.premierelect.co.uk.
