Thales awarded German imager contract

The German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support has awarded Thales (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) a contract for the manufacture and supply of ten sets of its Sophie XF long-range cooled thermal imagers.

The Sophie XF is a hand-held thermal imaging device with laser range finder, daylight camera and position sensor (GPS receiver and digital compass). The order also extends to logistical support, documentation and training.

Sophie XF is designed to complement around 100 previous systems used by the German Armed Forces. The agreed delivery date is for the autumn of 2013.

The German Armed Forces will use the long-range imagers for surveillance, target acquisition and identification and determining the co-ordinates of the targets at night and in adverse visibility conditions.

Related news items on thermal imaging from Vision Systems Design that you might also find of interest.

1. Thermal imaging used to measure body fat

Scientists at Nottingham University (Nottingham, UK) are using thermal imaging to determine the amount of brown adipose tissue in the human body.

2. Thermal imaging saves wildlife in the field

Researchers led by PhD student Kim A. Steen at Aarhus University have developed a tractor-mounted system that uses thermal imaging and digital image processing to automatically detect animals during the mowing of a field of grass.

3. Thermal imaging software detects drunks

Greek researchers have developed software to analyze images from thermal imaging cameras to objectively determine whether a person has consumed an excessive amount of alcohol.

-- Dave Wilson, Senior Editor, Vision Systems Design