Would You Like To Be Able To See In Complete Darkness?

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The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the secretive and innovative research arm of the US Department of Defence (DoD) has for nearly six decades been working on a variety of projects to give the United States a technological advantage over its adversaries. Now, it’s tackling one of the oldest challenges faced by soldiers the world over: How to see your enemies at night without them seeing you?

DARPA programme manager of microsystems tech office, Jay Lewis, spoke with Tech Insider at a recent Pentagon event and told them of one of DARPA’s recent projects to create a device that could allow soldiers to “see clearly in pitch-black conditions.”

Thermal imaging isn’t exactly breaking news, but current tech is cumbersome, expensive, and heavy, which makes it far from ideal for the battlefield. Proliferation of existing technologies has made them affordable for large-scale adversaries like hostile armies, greatly reducing the technological advantage of the United States.

To gain back the advantage, DARPA is working on a next generation, low cost thermal optics system that could become standard issue for every combat soldier. The Agency envisions these systems mounted on helmets, rifles, and even micro-drones. This would give US troops the ability to operate when their enemies simply cannot.

The high resolution would allow them to plan and execute complex missions as if they were operating in daylight.

While DARPA is keeping its cards close to its chest regarding the technological underpinnings of this breakthrough development, this follows a long tradition of DARPA advancing thermal imaging technology. The Agency has been working on advancing these solutions for decades, and the trees of this labour are definitely bearing fruit.