Military Embedded Systems

Thermal sensor from BAE Systems for use at the heart of demanding imaging applications

Press Release

October 28, 2020

BAE Systems' Athena 1920 camera core can be used in aerial cameras. Sierra-Olympic Technologies image.

LEXINGTON, Mass. BAE Systems has unveiled its full high-definition thermal camera core, Athena 1920, which combines exceptional infrared image clarity with a wide field of view. The compact, light, and low-power thermal camera core is aimed at use in demanding applications including security, surveillance, and targeting systems.

“Our thermal core enables a new class of sensing systems for everything from aerial reconnaissance to perimeter security to asset monitoring,” said Robyn Decker, director of Lexington Business Center and Sensor Solutions at BAE Systems. “We put more pixels on the target, giving end users the situational awareness they need to make critical decisions.”

The Athena 1920 features a 1920 x 1200 vanadium oxide (VOx) uncooled microbolometer pixel array that builds on the company’s industry-leading 12-micron (µm) pixel technology. The camera’s 60 Hz frame rate delivers exceptional clarity and minimizes motion blur in dynamic scenes, providing unparalleled detail of complex environments. The high-definition sensor offers nearly eight times the field of view of traditional camera cores, and with its small size (51 by 40 by 21 mm) and light weight (70 grams), is suited for high-performance applications where size, weight, power, and cost are important factors.

The Athena 1920 camera core is manufactured at the company’s state-of-the-art sensor facility in Lexington, Massachusetts, which enables high-quality camera core production at scale.

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