DRS Technologies Produces Lightweight, Low-Consumption Thermal Camera
Slightly smaller than a golf ball,
the Tamarisk™320 occupies less than 30 cubic centimeters of space
Press Release
PARSIPPANY, N.J., MAY 24, 2011 - DRS Technologies, Inc.,
a Finmeccanica Company, announced its Reconnaissance,
Surveillance and Target Acquisition (RSTA) business unit has produced an advanced,
full-featured thermal camera that consumes less than
one watt of power to produce a thermal image.
Slightly smaller than a golf ball, the Tamarisk™320 occupies
less than 30 cubic centimeters of space and, depending on the selected configuration,
weighs as little as 30 grams (just over one ounce).
It is available with a variety of lens focal lengths and horizontal fields of view.
DRS RSTA developed the Tamarisk™320 thermal camera,
which it will manufacture at its facilities in Melbourne, Florida and Dallas, Texas.
The thermal imager detects infrared (heat) energy that is emitted by persons,
objects and structures. It produces clear imagery for the viewer,
even through smoke, dust, haze, light fog and total darkness.
DRS’ Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) customers plan to incorporate
the imager in a variety of applications including security and surveillance,
unmanned aerial vehicles, portable handheld devices, and other commercial applications.
“This latest innovation extends RSTA’s standing as the thermal imaging
industry’s technology leader and largest producer of
uncooled detectors in the world,” says RSTA President Terry Murphy.
“The Tamarisk™320 defines a new standard in compact
thermal imaging capabilities for deployment on systems
serving the security and commercial sectors.
Our OEM customers will benefit from the small size,
weight and power attributes of our new thermal imager,
its proven quality, as well as our customer support.”
In addition to its standard range of lens configurations,
it is also available in a lens-less configuration that
allows OEMs to mount their own custom optics.
Modular electronics makes the imager very easy to
integrate into systems produced by manufacturers,
and its low power consumption can provide extended capabilities to those systems.
As a result,
the imager can contribute substantially to increased complete system performance.
For example, unmanned aerial vehicles using the Tamarisk™320 can
expand their mission times and coverage areas.
DRS Technologies, headquartered in Parsippany, NJ,
is a leading supplier of integrated products,
services and support to military forces,
intelligence agencies and prime contractors worldwide.
The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica S.p.A.
(FNC.MI) which employs more than 75,000 people worldwide.
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