ATHENA: De Combinatie van een Helderheidsversterker en Thermische Kijker met Kleurweergave (ATHENA: The Combination of a Brightness Amplifier and Thermal Viewer With Color)
Abstract
For defense purposes there is a need for all-day, all-night, all-weather vision systems to enable the performance of observation and identification tasks. In the ATHENA National Technology Project of the Dutch Ministery of Defense we developed a combined intensified and thermal imaging device for observation, target detection and navigation in conditions with low visibility. We also investigated the operational deployability of this system. The ATHENA system produces an image of which the colour representation can be adapted to the conditions and the task. A natural colour setting can be used for navigation and surveillance purposes, whereas a false colour setting is more appropriate for the detection of camouflaged targets. Image registrations made during field trials clearly show the operational benefits of the ATHENA system in conditions with shadows, smoke and camouflage. For terrain containing both natural and man-made details, the system produces an image representation that is more informative than the combination of the individual input images. The combination of increasing availability of multispectral imaging systems, progressive digitalization and miniaturization, increasing processing power, and steadily decreasing system costs indicates favorable marketing prospects.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA493104
Entities
People
- A. Toet
- H. A. Lensen
- K. W. Benoist
- M. A. Hogervorst
- R. De Rooy