The military uses sophisticated thermal infrared cameras to see at night, but according to the DoD's R&D department, they're too cumbersome, heavy, and expensive to issue to individual soldiers. The newly developed imaging technology is apparently dramatically smaller such that a person can realistically carry it. It's also cheaper: The imaging chips cost more or less depending on their size, so by the transitive property of government spending, smaller pixels equals savings. (There's no mention of how much it would cost to deploy these to a large number of soldiers.)
Even if the new camera doesn't end up a standard issue piece of gear for every grunt, it supposedly offers improved performance despite its diminutive size. Nice to see DARPA developing cool tech that's both innovative and easy on the purse. [DARPA via PopSci]
Infrared image via Ulrich Mueller/Shutterstock.com
DARPA's New Tiny Night Vision Camera Could Give Every Soldier Sight In the Dark