imaging and machine vision europe october/november 2011
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military and defence
technologies at BAE Systems. ‘For example, it can project the background infrared texture to blend the vehicle into the environment.’ Infrared sensors onboard the vehicle measure the background radiation, which is then displayed on Adaptiv. Sjölund notes that infrared sensors have
decreased in price to the extent that even military groups lacking substantial economic resources can purchase them for reconnaissance and surveillance. The skin is composed of hexagonal tiles in a honeycomb structure. Each tile can be heated and cooled. A skin made up of around 400
‘Friendly forces can read the encrypted information from the infrared images’
tiles was used to cover the right chassis of a BAE Systems CV90 armoured vehicle at the DSEi exhibition in September. ‘The size of the tiles provides a high enough
resolution to avoid detection, classification and identification at a combat distance down to 300m,’ comments Sjölund. Adaptiv can also be used to avoid friendly
fire. ‘You can light up very quickly different types of identification tags on the vehicle,’ says Sjölund. ‘If you’re 3km from your own forces in poor weather conditions, it would be difficult for them to identify you as a friendly vehicle. But with Adaptiv, you can light up identification marks to alert your own troops. You can even type letters, for instance.’ The cloak can also be used to identify the
vehicle to friendly forces in one direction, while remaining hidden to the enemy in the other direction. Identification marks can also be displayed on top of the vehicle. ‘In the future, the biggest threat will probably be from
The SQ-4 unmanned aerial vehicle, developed by a team at Middlesex University, is small and light enough for the soldier to carry in a backpack and provides a video stream for reconnaissance of the area
the air, mainly from unmanned aerial vehicles, which are often equipped with highly sensitive detectors,’ Sjölund says. Any type of infrared camouflage pattern
Adaptiv generates can at the same time contain encrypted information that can be decoded by friendly forces. Sjölund explains that friendly forces will be able to read the encrypted information from the infrared images, while the vehicle remains hidden to the enemy. In situations requiring radio silence, for instance, Adaptiv can still be used as a means to communicate between troops without revealing their whereabouts with radio signals. ‘It’s a passive way of communication,’ he says. The infrared signature is dependent on the
weather and terrain. In an arctic environment, a vehicle stands out more because the infrared background is relatively homogeneous compared to in a jungle, for instance, where there are large deviations in the background radiation. Adaptiv can copy these deviations and even blend into more inhomogeneous infrared backgrounds, which Sjölund says, is typically more difficult to do. The researchers at BAE are also working to implement protection from radar surveillance with a technology integrated into the tiles that absorbs radio waves. Radar antennas commonly operate by both emitting radio waves and collecting the part bouncing back from objects to determine their range, direction and speed. This masking technology absorbs portions of the radio waves resulting in less radiation scattered back to the source and thereby reducing the radar cross-section. ‘We have also started working on the visual spectrum,’ states Sjölund, by changing the colours on the tiles to blend the vehicle into the background. This involves attaching screen technology on each tile to add active camouflage capability in the visible spectrum. ‘With the addition of upgrades to cover
Adaptiv can blend an armoured vehicle to its surroundings, but it can also display other infrared images to disguise it, in this case a car. The left image shows a view of the armoured vehicle with Adaptiv switched off, while the right image shows the vehicle disguised as a car
radar and visible spectrums, Adaptiv will cover most of the spectral wavelengths used by threat sensors,’ Sjölund states. ‘The idea is to combine these technologies into one system.’
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