DTI R&D grant paves way to US$ 10 billion market for Hampshire based company

Citation

(2005), "DTI R&D grant paves way to US$ 10 billion market for Hampshire based company", Sensor Review, Vol. 25 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/sr.2005.08725cab.004

DTI R&D grant paves way to US$ 10 billion market for Hampshire based company

DTI R&D grant paves way to US$ 10 billion market for Hampshire based company

Keywords: Military, Sensors

SIS has launched a new mini stereoscopic Add Depth Binocular Viewer (ADBV) (Plate 1) for use with robots and remote operated vehicles. The ADBV is the first commercial product to come from a prototyping tool that was developed by the company, with funding from a DTI Research and Development Grant.

Plate 1 The ADBV

SIS was awarded the DTI Research and Development Grant in December 2003 to produce a modelling tool to investigate the “Parameters of 3D optical capture & display”. The tool, rechristened the Add Depth Optical Prototyping Tool (ADOPT) is based on the well respected Zemax optical system.

Roger Bennett, the chief operating officer states:

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  The R&D grant made this project happen and we are extremely pleased with the cooperation and support we received from the DTI.

ADOPT allows the SIS technical sales team, headed by Alan Scrase the Chief Technical Officer, to model and scale customer requirements on a PC based system. The visual and graphical output from the model is analysed real time via a screen display.

Alan Scrase states:

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  ADOPT has massively shortened the design lead times required to provide customer solutions. The output also lends itself very well to the use of Rapid Prototyping technologies.

The mini ADBV was designed specifically for a US based Crash, Search and Rescue team and is typically used with the SIS “Bug”, a single camera stereoscopic sensor that is attached to Packbot search and rescue robots (Plate 2).

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  Although the thought of saving lives makes us feel very warm inside, we are aware of the military implications of our products. The US alone are spending US$10 billion in the next decade on unmanned vehicles says Roger Bennett.

Plate 2 The SIS “Bug” single camera stereoscopic sensor

The ADBV, weighing in at less than 500g, is ideal for use in locations where operators use unmanned ground vehicles. The ADBV can be hand held or helmet mounted with wired and wireless options available.

Unmanned vehicle operators using traditional display technologies are continually faced with landscape recognition problems when operating their vehicles in unfamiliar surroundings. Stereoscopic vision can add significantly to the visual experience for operators. Familiarisation and training times in particular are truncated.

Stereoscopic Image Systems Limited is a privately owned company, based in southern England that has patented systems for obtaining real time stereoscopic images using a single camera.

For further information mail to: info@sis3d.co.uk; or visit: www.sis3d.co.uk