Night Vision vs. Thermal Vision

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#1 Posted : Tuesday, May 11, 2010 8:26:53 PM

An enemy target in both thermal and standard night vision.

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Devin Standard

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Posts: 1Location: New Hampshire

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Night Vision vs. Thermal VisionWhat you can't see CAN hurt you!

By: Devin S. Standard

A crash in the night, your heart goesTHUMP! We humans have an innate fear ofdarkness programmed into the firmware ofour DNA. It isn't imagined. What you can'tsee in the dark CAN hurt you. The cover ofdarkness has been the friend of thepredator, the criminal, the terrorist, the DevilHimself, which is why night visionmanufacturing is now a billion-dollar

business. Night vision technology has comea long way in the last ten years. Graduallythe prices have come way down. What usedto be available to just the military is nowwithin the financial reach of civilians and lawenforcement.

I recently had the opportunity to do some night operations training down in North Carolina. Wow!Whether running and gunning with, helmet-mounted goggles, engaging targets with a night visionscope, or sending .308 projectiles down-range with the aid of a thermal scope, the ability to see inthe dark delivers a super-human like feeling of invincibility! Hundreds of thousands of night visiondevices are giving our fighting forces a significant advantage on foreign battlefields this veryevening. Tens of thousands of law enforcement professionals are currently using night vision tohelp keep the streets safe. You need to get some of this technology too, and now you can.

Night vision generally works in 3 different ways:Image Intensification (I2) - This is the most common type of night vision technology. Itworks, in the darkness, by capturing the tiny amount of available ambient light coming fromthe moon, stars and artificial sources. I2 also captures the lower end of the infrared lightspectrum, that type of light is usually imperceptible to our eyes, but is present. The devicecaptures these light sources, amplifies them thousands of times via an electronic "tube", andprojects the image on a viewing lens. The images appear a grey green color and there is anice level of detail rendered with the latest, GEN III and GEN IV technology. You can evensee through windows with I2. Note: There must be some light, I2 will not work in totaldarkness, such as in caves.

Thermal imaging - Thermal technology operates not by aggregating light; but by capturingthe "heat" emitted by all object/persons. This "heat", is literally the upper portion of theinfrared light spectrum. Hot objects, like running machines, people and animals, emit more of

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Night vision operation.

Thermal image.

Weapon mounted thermal.

this "light"/"heat" than cooler objects like rocks,trees or buildings. The image appear in gray-whiteor gray-black depending upon your preference, asthe polarity can be adjusted so heat can either beshown black, or white. The thermal images arecrisp enough to clearly distinguish facial featureswithin 25-30 meters. Thermal imagers arecommonly called thermal cameras, thermal sights,thermal monoculars or thermal binoculars. Note:Thermal imaging technology does not allow you tosee through windows, or under water, because the"heat" is reflected back. In fact, you will see yourbody heated reflected back off the surface.Fusion- Thermal imaging and ImageIntensification (I2) technology have now beencombined in single devices so both the infraredenergy and the ambient light are captured. Thisallows the operator to now identify people andobjects in almost all low-light/no-lightenvironments. Now, thanks to fusion technology,Osama can't hide in the total darkness of a cave,we can see him through windows, fog, etc. Fusioncan be operated as an (I2) device, as a thermalimager, or in a combination mode. I recently got totry a $50,000 Fusion Goggle and I have to

say,"wow, you can see someone's soul"! There iseven a mode in which there is an electric greenwire frame outlining people. This is a great aid intargeting. You are the Predator! Sorry I cannotshow you a fusion image.

These three technologies are regulated under International Trafficking in Arms Regulations(ITAR). This means, as a non-felonious US Citizen, you should be able to purchase them; but youmay not export them. "Exporting" includes demonstrating them to non-US persons, agents orfirms, as well as not leaving US waters upon your boat. There may be exceptions. Check with yourlegal counsel. Thank God, I am not a lawyer.

IMPORTANT ACRONYMS:

NVD- Night vision deviceNVM- Night vision monocle

NVG- Night vision goggleI2- Image intensificationMCP- Micro-channel plateIR- InfraredFPA- Focal plane array

Now that you've decided you want to negatethe night, it's time to decide what to buy.First of all let's look at I2 products. They come inseveral different generations: GEN 0, GEN I, GEN II,GEN III and GEN IV. As with ammunition's +P and +P+varieties, there are some additional identifiers with nightvision devices. I am going to forego those details until afuture column.

Devices also come with names like PVS-7, A/NPVS-14, etc. Those are simply US militarylogistical codes for identifying various products. The A/N stands for Army/Navy and the PVS

stands for Passive Vision Site. The most common one you will see on today's battlefields in theAN/PVS-14, or PVS-14, which is a GEN III night vision monocle which can be hand held, weapon,or helmet mountable,

GEN 0: They were developed by AEG for the German army in the late 1930's and several otherfirms for the US during the same time period. These early devices used large infrared illuminatorsto highlight the targets and a "tube" consisting of an anode and photocathode to create the image.The resolution was not great. You wouldn't want to pay for one of these, except for potentialcollectability.

GEN I devices became available during the Vietnam War era. They were essentially GEN 0 withtechnology enhancements, allowing the utilization ambient light instead of artificial infrared light.The light is amplified by about 1,000 times by a GEN I NVD. The technology improvements havemade them significantly smaller and lighter than GEN 0; but their 1960's photocathode based




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Gen III NV Rifle Scope. $3,000 Retail

Gen IV NV Binoculars $8000 Retail

Panoramic NV Goggles Priceless

switch in my bedroom and putting on my goggles!(yes I know I'm not supposed to clear the housealone)

GEN IV gets complicated. There is currently noagreement among the military, law enforcementand the manufacturers on what to call theseexcellent devices. They are known by any of thefollowing names:

Omnibus-VIIGEN III+GEN IVFilmless & Gated I2

Let's call them GEN IV for our purposes. GEN IV NVDsare state of the art. These offer excellent viewing up to1,000 yards under the right conditions due, in part, toGEN IV's new gated, filmless technology. Anothersignificant enhancement is the installation of anautomatic gated power supply. This developmentprecisely and quickly regulates the photocathode voltage,allowing the NVD to instantaneously adapt to changinglight conditions. Meaning it rapidly adjusts as you move

among conditions with differing levels of light.Another change is that the ion barrier film has actuallybeen removed from the system, allowing significantincreases in target identification at longer ranges, and,under very low light conditions. The signal to noise ratio is significantly increased as a result of theoptimized filmless MCP, this yields better image quality in extremely low light conditions. What thatmeans is that a significantly higher percentage of electrons are properly harnessed into imagecreation as opposed to "noise", or pixilated distractions from the image. The contrast adjustmentsare better too, making the device perform better under all light conditions. Even the previouslydiscussed "halo" is almost non-existent. The downside to removing the ion barrier means adiminished device life expectancy, from 20,000 hours to 15,000 hours mean time between failures.This equates to a reduction in mean life expectancy from 1666 nights service life to 1250 nights.Most manufacturers give a solid 2 year warranty, so I am not overly concerned. I really hope Iwon't be tasked with over 1,000 night missions. If I am, someone else is paying for my NVD.

How good are these? Some SWAT guys and I recently evaluated a unit in Wyoming. We had noproblem identifying subjects at 600 yards, typically an effective range for .223. I'd say on ops witha .338 Lapua, .308 or .300WinMag, you could project your will to the 1,000 yard range, under theright conditions, without the subject even knowing you were in the vicinity. A Gen IV NVD is on myChristmas list. Hopefully my wife will win the lottery.

THERMAL

Thermal night vision devices rock. The prices arecoming down quickly; but they are still reallyexpensive, $5,000 and up for a good hand heldand $11,000 and up for weapon mountableversions. As I was recently in the employ of adefense contractor, I had the opportunity to senda fair bit of lead downrange, targeted with by avariety of thermal weapon sites. I also got paid toextensively evaluate several hand-held thermalimaging models. For the purpose of this article, Iam going to ignore vehicle and aircraft systemsand focus entirely on man portable systems,those with which I have experience.

All living things generate their own heat and willproduce a signature, while inanimate objects willabsorb solar radiation as well as heat from artificial sources, and produce a thermal signature.Thermal imaging works by capturing the infrared energy that is reflected by all bodies containingheat, passing it through a thermal core (microbolometer) onto a Focal Plane Array (FPA) via anadvanced image processing algorithm. Just as with computers and cameras, they are rapidly




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The reticicle of a weapons mounted thermal.

Thermal Weapon Site $15,000

getting smaller and more powerful. The better devices are extremely sensitive, and currently ableto detect differences as small as .01 degrees Centigrade. This means you can see the residualheat left when someone has touched a wall or walked across your carpet until the heat dissipates,wow. You can see video of this on Youtube.com. Here is a good example:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4vZKGq3lE8. Just type in "thermal image" if this linked filmisn't running for some reason. There is quite a collection of videos.

Thermal devices capture the heatinformation from all objects, including theground, rocks, trees, etc., within its field of

view. The device's processor then createsan image for you to see. People andanimals can't hide their body heat, so usersequipped with thermal devices can easilyidentify them, their foot, hand or paw prints,etc. Thermal imagers work the same duringthe day, or at night, so the tool can be usedfor target observation 24/7/365. Unlike thepreviously discussed night vision, whichrequires minimal light and an un-obscuredline of sight, to the target, with thermalimagers, you can:

See people in total/absolute darknessSee people through smoke, dust, andlight fog, light rain and light snow.

See people through camouflage and foliage in any lighting conditionsSee more - and see farther - than with other low-light night vision goggles and cameras.

5 things distinguish thermal cameras from one another;

Resolution is expressed as: 160 x 120, 320 240, and 640 x512. The higher the number, thelarger the number of pixels/unit of area. The greater the number of pixels/area, the better theaccuracy of temperature measurement yielding clearer, more precise pictures. The resolutionrace is on among various manufacturers, and crisper images are today's standard asopposed to the "blob cams" of the 1990's.

1.

Refresh Rate, expressed in Hertz, isanother way of saying frames/secondas in movie film. The higher the better.A 50/60Hz devices will refresh at 50/60

frames/second and will give full motionvideo, just like watching TV. Slowerrefresh rates will exhibit some drag,and the images may be jumpy, or havesome blurring if the user turns thedevice quickly. Only low refresh ratethermal imagers may be exportedwithout going through the Departmentof State paperwork. Please be careful,we don't want the good stuff in the wrong hands.

2.

The leading manufacturers now produce high performance thermal cameras with colorimages. The color does not match human visual reality; but small differences in temperature.Once you get used to the artificial color palette, this is proving ever more popular. It is nice forclearly distinguishing guns on a person's body versus the more common grey scale, black &white displays.

3.

Ruggedness: Hand held Mil-spec thermal cameras are generally built to be waterproof to 66',to withstand extreme changes in temperature and even multiple drops from 4' onto concrete.Weapon-mountable, Mil-spec thermal sights are designed to stand up to weapon recoil aswell.

4.

High-end thermal cameras also have the ability to measure target temperatures. This iscalled Thermography. This is a great tool for knowing whether a machine is running in anoptimal operating temperature range, whether a suspect is sweating or feverish, etc. I'veheard that road side bombs clearly have a different temperature/color than the dirt, debris orother material under which they are hidden. I have no personal experience with this however.

5.

Both night vision and thermal imaging device come in a variety of form factors.




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A parking lot with thermal vision

A parking lot with thermal vision

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Configurations

NVD's and thermal imagers come in variousconfigurations:

Monoculars - Helmet-mounted,Weapon mountable (typically mountsin front of day optic), and Hand held

Dedicated rifle scope

Binoculars CamerasGogglesPanoramic goggles

My recommendation for the non-militaryuser is to buy a hand-held monocular unitwhich can be head-mounted, helmet-mounted or weapon-mounted. This way youhave the flexibility to configure it in themanner most suitable for your missionrequirement. For home defense, forexample, helmet or head mounting makes alot of sense. You hear the bump in the night,put it on and do what you have to do,without your Surefire giving away your

position. Also, the head/helmet mountingmeans your hands will be free for otherrequirements. Additionally, I would look for aproduct from a reputable manufacturer suchas Flir, Trijicon, ATN, Meprolight, or other,verifiable, military suppliers.

Good luck with the zombies.

About the Author: Devin S. Standard is anNRA pistol instructor, an accomplishedmartial artist, a hunter, a defense industryexecutive and a family man who has lived,worked and traveled extensively in Europe,Latin America, Asia and Africa. He hassurvived several disasters, one war, trekked

Everest, ridden 4 bulls and crossed the Sahara on a motorcycle. He resides somewhere in theLive Free or Die State of New Hampshire.

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reddog11 on 6/8/2010

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