Optical sensor touted as law enforcement tool
PoliceOne.com
Tuesday 7rd March, 2006 (UPI)

By Joel Bainerman

EE Times

TEL AVIV, Israel — ODF Optronics has introduced a new electro-optical sensor originally designed to help Israeli troops gather intelligence in combat zones.

The rugged sensor was initially designed to capture images and listen to voices in a target area prior to an assault into an enclosed space. Called "The Eyeball," the palm-sized, camera-laden device was designed to be used in risky situations like collapsed buildings or counterterrorism operations. Capable of producing a 360-degree view, the sensor sends images wirelessly to a remote receiver.

Weighing less than 1 pound, the sensor is encased in a rubber and polyurethane housing. That casing allows it to be thrown through windows or bounced off walls.

Once deployed, the system can capture video out to 25 yards away and audio up to a distance of 5 yards, and then broadcast both up to 200 yards to a color video screen. An omnidirectional camera rotates at 4 rpm and provides a 55-degree horizontal and 41-degree vertical field of view. It also has night vision capability.

The electro-optical device is now being marketed internationally to the civilian security market. ODF has signed a marketing agreement with Remington Arms Co., which recently gained Federal Communications Commission to begin selling the camera to U.S. law enforcement agencies.

While law enforcement is the primary application for the $1,500 sensor, ODF said it could also prove useful for firefighters, emergency medical technicians and search-and-rescue teams.