Obzerv's Active Imaging system passes final acceptance test by the US Navy.
Quebec, Canada – August 16, 2004 – Obzerv Technologies, a manufacturer of night-vision surveillance systems, announced today that the US Navy has successfully completed its acceptance tests of the Active Range-Gated Television (ARGTV) designed, and built by Obzerv. The unit was delivered in May 2004 and went through lab testing and field trials to validate its performance and functionality. The final part of the tests involved reading 15-inch (38.1 cm) high letters (50% contrast with target background) at 3 miles (4.8 km), 80% relative humidity, in total darkness (no moon light), which was achieved easily.
To support the operational deployment of the ARGTV, the US Navy also ordered spare parts consisting of all the primary components of the ATV2000i, minus the structural assembly. The ARGTV and its accompanying spare parts were the first formal orders received by Obzerv for its active imaging technology. Details regarding the destination and application are classified.
The ARGTV is a variant of the ATV2000i modified to meet specific requirements of the US Navy. The ARGC-2400 is an electro-optical device that utilizes a DALISTM (Diode Array Laser Illumination System) and range-gating technology to provide long-range night vision functions in complete darkness and in degraded weather conditions such as rain, fog and snow. The resulting real-time video images present information that is critical for today's new security challenges, and until now, were not met by any other technology like thermal imaging. It can read a ship's registration and recognize a human being at up to 5 km, and classify a vehicle at 10 km and beyond. The ARGC-2400 is the only long-range active imaging system ready to be deployed and used easily by security forces, thanks to its high level of integration and carefully designed operator interface.
"This approval by the US Navy is a testimony to the quality and performance of our products. Terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking, illegal immigration pose new challenges to armed forces and security organizations. Amongst them, ship identification at long ranges is crucial to the anti-terrorist war. In that regard, active imaging provides a decisive operational advantage to meet these challenges" says Deni Bonnier, President of Obzerv Technologies. A US Navy official commented: "The ARGTV straightforwardly met and exceeded all performance specifications. It marks the arrival of a significant new tool in surveillance technology."