The American dream: infrared surveillance for everyone

Posted by John McHalePARIS AIR SHOW BLOG, 22 June 2011. It's always interesting what you learn at the Paris Air Show -- it's not always about airplanes. Today it's about how infrared surveillance technology is getting smaller and cheaper and could in the next decade be standard equipment in some automobiles.Engineers are at DRS Technologies are developing infrared sensor technology in very small packages for law enforcement, border patrol and unmanned vehicle operations that could one day be used in automobiles because it is small, affordable, and can be placed anywhere, says Eric Balch, product line director for DRS Technologies.Just like GPS technology infrared cameras are getting more inexpensive and will someday be a commodity product, Balch says. For example Cadillac currently offers an infrared camera option in one of their luxury vehicles for around $2,400, he adds.There will always be military grade versions that will not be sold to the public, but soon everyone will have the opportunity to use infrared technology to navigate their car though foggy or other vision-impaired conditions, Balch says.The DRS gyro-stabilized gimbal is easy to use as it uses a suction cup to attach it almost any surface and a cable that to hook it up to the computer, he says. For more information on the gimbal, visit www.drs.com.