I feel like I am being data-mined by a Manufacturer. lol.

1. Higher S/N, and Resolution, Less Blemishes, Longer Tube Life.
2. Integrated Thermal Overlay or some type of digital Hybrid setup that eliminates the need for manual objective focus.
3. Not sure how this differs from Q1.

My major issue is the form factor of current night vision technology in terms of what is readily available to the consumer market or devices that I know about, can afford, or have used. It is my understanding that the PVS-14 is currently fielded. I own early MX-10160 format tubes dating all the way back to 1990 and I own current production tubes still under warranty. They are nearly exactly the same format and fit in the same housings, despite one being new and the other a quarter century old. This is great in terms of upgrading and reusing the housing, but in 25 years we've made no strides in size reduction!?! Why aren't these things the size of 2 Liter bottle caps at a minimum? In 1990 we were using VHS Tapes and Cassettes, yet today we're down to Blue Ray and MicroSD cards. With a world of 1080p OLED displays, and nano manufacturing, I am waiting for this industry to catch up.

I think one of the largest issues is that the manufacturers don't seem to be leveraging this product to the consumer market to increase demand, growth, and offset R&D costs. Instead, night vision remains purely a boutique item available at high cost. The current form factor seems to favor large scale military bids, with no real competition to drive a reduction in size / weight.

I'm waiting for this technology to mature to the point where NVG's become much like battery operated 3D TV glasses, in exactly the same size and form factor, with auto-sensing capabilities that turn the device, on, off, or adjust the gain to match environmental needs. I would also expect this type of device to be modular to accept video data feed overlays for military, law enforcement, or consumer needs. Maybe the future device is a pure digital device that utilizes a transparent OLED display and provides a amplified light overlay (NVG), a thermal overlay, or external data overlays through a port connection on the device. Maybe it has the ability to sync with other units in the field to color overlay friendly targets to minimize friendly fire incidents.

Form Factor example:


You can't tell me that for a 2+ decades we can't do any better.

Most of my gen 3 systems I am pretty happy with, and considering the cost of current production intensifiers, I am not really looking to replace the intensifiers, as at the current cost it's just about equally practical to replace the entire system, and even then that system will be pretty equivalent to the old one, so the only real benefit would be upgrading away from wear & tear, or into a warrantied device.

My first reason, just because I thought of it first, would be cost. If an equally well performing tube to say, Omni 6 functionality were made available around the $500-750 point with waranty and all that I would jump on that for all of my out of warranty tubes, blemished tubes etc. At that point it would just make sense to. Even if it wasnt quite as good bit still pretty good, especially of the warranty was solid.

Second reason, a decrease in size, especially depth, or other new improved form factor. I've REALLY wanted pvs21 form factor goggles because they stay close to your face, and maybe today the form factor likely here be more like an Oculus virtual-reality headset, or google glass style hud. the pvs14 is pretty good but it is like 5" long. My iphone has a lense, sensor, and screen stacked in a quarter of an inch. getting a pvs14 type device that was only 2.5" long would be an AMAZING improvement, nevermind a truly flat device, or a pair of glasses as previously mentioned.

A third reason would be new functionality - picture-in-picture, thermal or visible spectrum fusion, ability to take screen shot, connecting to external data.. get your buddies POV sent over to your goggles so he can show you what's going on, or SMS messages to your eyecup. Really anything that enhances the experience. Oh how about recording video/audio/G forces/gps data to an onboard microSD card? Get your riflescope's POV wirelessly into your goggles.

A photocathode that would see way further to infrared would be very nice.

 

Autofocus...

This.

Autofocus

Which manufacturer is making use of this data? Do you work directly for them, or are you being paid for this research in any way? Just curious how this is all being used. lol.

If a manufacturer really wanted to make some $$$, figuring out a way to offer current technology at a reduced price would probably be the way to go. Let's face it, $3,500 is a bit steep for most folks. If a PVS14 was $2000, I bet sales would quadruple.


As for tech advances, autofocus would be awesome. So would enhanced gain, FOV, contrast, etc.

Higher resolution and SN.  Think of no need for ir, that is crazy but I would pay for it.   I use it for hunting pigs that are often mixed with cows and changing resolution from 45-64 was great.  So increase the lp to 100 or so and have a 3x zoom like a camera.  It could be digital zoom not true zoom and it might save weight not having the different lense.  I know once you get past 72 lp the human eye can't tell but I don't think you can do a digital zoom and it not be blurry unless you increase lp.

It's probably true the human eye cannot resolve beyond what the current lp/mm values are, but that would be only if they were at 100% MTF. My guess, based on nothing but looking trough NV devices, is that the difference in resolution between my eyes and Gen3 tubes is somehere 4:1. So raising the resolution up would help even if the resolution would exceed that of the human eye.

I would upgrade without a doubt if I could have 120lp/mm and 80 degrees of FOV for the same price as a PVS14 is at the moment.

 

Correct me if I am wrong but I want to say the latest and greatest tubes have omitted manually adjustable pots in favor of a digital sensor, and gain and brightness are adjusted with an IR gun. So the tubes are ready to be adjusted by your computer, it's just a matter of getting your PC to talk with the tube AFAIK.

 

Performance is fine. As has been said, it's time to shrink the package. Diameter is fine, the length and weight needs to be worked on.

Is it the aspheric lenses that change instantly.  Might be an easy way to switch between 1x and 3-5x.  Already have the power.

Weight isn't even all that bad. It's the length of the housing. Pvs 21s are an excellent starting point but pricey ( I get it R&D, etc.)  PVS 5Cs weren't all that bad. An upgraded version would do nicely for us civilians. Wider field of view would be nice as well, a semi-fisheye lense to increase field of view maybe? Just a thought.

Immediate wish lists would be for lower cost tubes, my omni viii is great but omni v at a lower cost would probably be fine for me. That's really just a wish list for a dual tube setup

I've stated what I'd like to see in your previous threads, but I'll do so again. Ideally I'd like to see something lighter, smaller (shorter in OAL is more important to me then width) , larger FOV, and auto focus with the option to disable. The thought of adding TI into the mix is also intriguing as I'm about to pony up cash for a PAS-29. Overall price of a unit like this would definitely have my money if it cost no more then current offerings. The addition of thermal obviously would drive cost up, so I'm seeing 3 potential unit types for market.

A entry level unit at the $2000 price point like another member suggested with all or at least some of the mentioned improvements. I can currently build a bare bones, albeit well performing unit for $1300-1500. I'd gladly pay the remainder to have it factory assembled, purged, and with a warranty. I think a unit like this would sell like hot cakes especially if it was of Omni VI performance or better.

A mid level unit applying all desired improvements mentioned above, sans thermal, with the best performing tubes available.

A higher end unit that includes everything from the mid unit, plus thermal.

Battery life should stay the same, or better. I'd like to see more battery options for the same housing slyle like on the MUM. Having the choice of AA or 123 on the most widely available housing style would be most welcome.

A better IR flood would also be welcome. While not a necessity, it would potentially eliminate a light (ie weight) from my helmet.

Just my thought and a wish list of sorts, feel free to critique.

Wider field of view - say 50 degrees would be a good place to start.  Greater contrast / resolution.  Those two improvements would make me upgrade.

My wish list ? Smaller and lighter is ALWAYS appreciated. Maybe we can get to the point of simply slipping on some eyeglasses in the future. Higher resolution and contrast would be high on my list with contrast probably being the most important to me.

Smaller and lighter would require different housings and I am not sure that would work just yet with most everyone having housings designed for the standard MX-10160 or 11769 style tubes. This would most likely be a entire new scope rather than tube replacement.

I think tube life is good. I would like to see power supply's more user friendly. See far to many with a blown PSU that can't be fixed by most economically. The module is fine but the tube is trashed due to a bad PSU. A system where a new PSU could be simply plugged in would be a fantastic upgrade for all !

A wider FOV would also be a bonus for me. All I can think of off the top of my head today. I will add if I come up with more on my wish list.

Hard to say about the bandwidth as I don't know how things look when extended like that. The Photonis INTENS would be an interesting thing to see just for that reason though.

But, my cake would have (false) color vision, some thermal fusion to see in the absolute dark too, more resolution and contrast. Can the photocathode response be streched to having both visible & IR? That'd be the best kind of fusion until digital is better.

I say for the general consumer including myself it would be 100% cost.

Pump out an optic that has a s/n upgrade or light gathering ability for around $500

Until then I'm stating on the used market.

If there was a tube out there that double all the current specs on the market but cost $3000 a tube I wouldn't even consider it...

Another point for consumer market would be to allow worldwide sales. If nothing else it would bring prices down, and quite possibly speed up the innovation.

That would also put them in the hands of the enemy of the U.S. essentially erasing the nighttime advantage we have in warfare

There are multiple manufacturers that already supply anyone who has the money. While what you say was true in the past, it no longer is. Photonis and Katod for example have tubes that compare to US Gen3 and in some aspects surpass them. The price differences are not that big to by itself prevent armies buying NV. The countries that are the biggest real threats to the US already have night vision, but the difference is more in training and the sheer amount of NODs fielded in US. That would not change just by allowing US tubes for export.

I do understand the ITAR restrictions, but I think they are outdated in some aspects.

 

I spend a couple hundred hours a year under NODs so any serious improvements have me interested. Can you expand on these "super tubes"? Also, in your opinion, what do you think it would take to shorten the OAL and widen the FOV of the pvs14/15 series NODs?

::shrug::

I guess like last time - without any of the technical knowledge to really know how to make any of this work - assuming the same form factor (i.e. a PVS-14 sized device still has to be a PVS-14 sized device - weight and form reduction always being a goal and perhaps more desirable with comparable capabilities than any "drop-in" type module would be) also assuming that we're discussing I^2 only, rather than thermal and/or fusion systems - some things I would want to see an NVD be able to do in no particular order (I'm just spit-balling here):

1. I will agree that auto-focus would be nice

2. "See through" optics - that is to say, perhaps more durable?  This goes beyond automatic gain adjustment to the point where you could move between different lighting conditions without any fear of wash out and/or damage to the tube - that would not simply just fade to dark/shut-off/etc. etc. but to adjust to ambient light conditions so that you could move between a fully lit room and "see through" the optic with white light, and then move into total darkness with the tube doing the hard work of adjustment "on the fly."  Not sure if my explanation makes sense... but basically, NODs that you could see through when you didn't need them without having to be flipped up.  

3. On-board overlays - nothing too complicated - but it might be nice to have the ability to have an on-board overlay that displayed as an HUD inside the NOD - integrating with GPS, I would imagine would be the easiest way - but if there could be some sort of way to integrate it for both navigation with a heading/azimuth display that could be switched on and off, as well as an IFF capability - maybe in conjunction with a small IR strobe/GPS beacon that team-members could wear and pre-program that would give you the direction and distance to friendlies wearing the device.  A more complicated system could even integrate with C4ISR platforms to give you distance/direction to potential enemies, OBJs, etc.  This, of course, could easily become "too busy" under the wrong circumstances - so a way to select and turn-off unneeded functions depending on the situation, and easily would be critical for this as well.  

4. Is green strictly necessary?  I don't know how other people perceive the green - but when I've been under NOD for a while, I suppose the red cones in my eyes have been over-compensating for so long that everything tends to have a reddish/purplish tinge for a while after.  Not to mention how visible green is, and the "splash-back" necessitating, or at least inspiring the creation of such things as the Wilcox amber filter - could a different color primary color choice mitigate this without causing too many other issues?  

5. Color - or even false color would be great - however, I would settle for increased resolution and contrast - I^2 is great for identification, but that doesn't mean it can't be better.  This combined with auto-focus, IMHO, would be fantastic.

6. Increased FOV - could it be done within the same package size and/or as a retro-fit/drop in configuration?  

7. I'm not sure what the weight of a tube is relative to the housing and other associated equipment - but could it simply be made lighter?  With or without the above capabilities?  

8. Per unit price reduction - once again, with or without the above capabilities - bringing the price down alone would be worthwhile - though it would not, of course, cause me to replace something that I already have.  

9. CNVD capability out of the box - it tends to be agreed to that an NVD behind a day optic is a less than ideal solution - and that in general - current NV monoculars make poor CNVDs - does it have to be that way?  Could a tube/monocular not be designed for instant CNVD capability?  Perhaps in conjunction with my previous "modular" NVD idea - wear binoculars to a hide site - then unclip one monocular and pop it into a mount ahead of the day optic for a passive NV weapon sight capability?  

~Augee

 

Sounds like you just need a pair of small SWIR goggles.

 

It would have to advance some yet. I got to play with a prototype SWIR setup and there were several things that would need to change in order to make it a good head borne system. I think it will be a while before I2 systems are dramatically improved in the consumer market.

How about we forget the mx10160 and mx11769 and pvs14 main body housing for a bit.

The PVS14 ocular is pretty good so lets keep that part as well as the battery housing/electronics package which is pretty well conceived also. The objective lense does it's job well too but this is all about progress so I am not totally married to those lenses at this point, but having at least some parts commonality with a milspec device has it's perks when it comes time to fixing it or finding parts.

In the end I think digital output screen will be best for many of the reasons mentioned in this thread. So put a digital output device in my hands that uses some pvs14 parts and in an equivalent or better package as the current pvs14.

 

Did someone say 3+1 drop in replacement ? Take my money now please...

An 18mm drop in with a 3+1 intensifier would be great.

I would like no halo or almost no halo, and higher MTF and contrast before I'd upgrade from Omni 7 spec tubes.