Airborne payloads

Rescue Helicopter

Rugged Cameras for Airborne Payloads

Airborne sensor systems on manned or unmanned vehicles provide wide area observation, autonomous tracking, coordinate generation, positive identification from the air to the ground, and more.

Due to changing requirements from our customers, imaging capabilities in the visible spectrum are becoming mandatory. In the past daylight cameras were optional and of lower imaging quality, now there is a need for existing (upgrades) and new sensor payloads to add the capability of obtaining high quality full motion video throughout the day and night. This is as applicable for search & rescue missions as it is for other global security operations.

Today there is a need from the market to move to HD resolution and beyond to increase the detection ranges and/or increase fields of view for improved situational awareness. This includes requirements of greater low light capabilities. With an increase in the number of sensors (cameras) in the systems, size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) are focus areas to ensure a seamless integration into the system and the market. This means the electronics design of the camera needs to be small, power efficient and preferably compliant with standardized interfaces. The image sensor selections of the camera need to be in line with available space for matching optics. Therefore ½” through 1” sensors can be utilized depending on the platform type, size and operational profile.

Adimec’s rugged full HD digital cameras combine excellent sensitivity and image quality with long-term stability in extreme environmental conditions. Cameras can be supplied with full HD color processing or full HD monochrome sensors for cases where the user is looking at great distances with a small field of view (for example as a spotter camera). Outline options, including board level designs provide flexibility to meet different space envelopes. The TMX-DHD and CMOS cameras provide a wide number of functionalities and video interfaces to meet the high demands of the manufacturers and end-users of these high-tech systems.

Typical Systems

Air to Ground Observation and Fixed Wing Manned Aircraft

Reconnaissance Pods

Nose-Mounted Observation

Air to Ground Observation and Targeting on Rotary or Fixed Wing Manned Aircraft

Expand the Operational Envelope
Visibility from dawn to dusk

Low light sensitivity

Previously the daylight or video camera was only useful in well-lit situations but with latest image sensor and image processing technologies it is now possible to use the daylight cameras in low light to complement the other cameras in the EO/IR imaging system. The excellent sensitivity of the image sensor is combined with advanced image processing so HD images are possible from dawn to dusk.

Increased identification capabilities
Sharp, Color, HD Images

Full HD up to 60 fps

Adimec’s daylight cameras offer full-HD resolution up to 60 fps so there is no motion blur and more detailed image information.

Color Processing

Because of the improvements in both the sensitivity of the image sensors and in color processing, excellent sharpness and image quality in color can be achieved, even in low light. Our edge enhancement function minimizes MTF loss after debayering.

Rugged and SWaP-C Optimized
Small Outline, No Cooling, Rugged Qualified

Rugged Qualified and Extended Testing

Our rugged cameras are compliant to MIL-STD-810G to verify rugged performance. The qualification process includes vibration, acceleration, and shock testing. Humidity, altitude, salt & fog, and extended temperature range performance is also included. All of our cameras are subjected to a full acceptance test with options for additional thermal cycling and vibration stress screening.

Compact form factor, no cooling

Remote head, boxed, and board-level versions are available to simplify integration. Adimec incorporates thermal management into the camera without cooling to not impact the overall noise level even in a small mechanical outline.

The advantage of uncooled cameras is that they are lighter and smaller, they require much less power, they are cheaper, have fewer reliability issues and therefore longer lifetimes.

Image formats and scaling

The TMX-DHD and CMOS cameras have an advanced up-sampling and down-sampling function which can be used for digital zoom but also for meeting various image formats. This enables the integrator to use FULL-HD cameras for video capture even without supporting displays. The TMX6-DHD HD-SDI comes with a parallel PAL / NTSC video output which can be used in analog systems or as a parallel video feed (next to HD-SDI) to the autonomous tracker.