Total Recon in a Rubber Ball
Defense News
Monday 19rd April, 2004 (UPI)

Israeli Firm Takes Omni-Directional Imaging to New Places

TEL AVIV--A nondescript rubber orb the size of a tennis ball comes to rest on the floor in the corner of a room. Equipped with a 360-degree imaging sensor and a video motion-detection system, the stabilized device captures all it sees and hears within a 25-meter radius, and transmits the data instantly to command-and-control headquarters.

Through advanced omni-directional image processing and image-understanding algorithms and software, field commanders gain a front-row seat inside terrorist lairs, where they can observe and record plots in the making or unfolding events. If hostages are involved, rescuers may be able to communicate discreetly with captives via microphones and speakers implanted in the devices.

The tennis ball-sized reconnaissance system, called Eyeball, is the brainchild of O.D.F. Optronics Ltd., a small start-up firm established here three years ago by Ehud Gal, a colonel in Israel 's military reserves and a former deputy to the chief scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Now in hand-crafted prototype form, the patent-pending Eyeball and its derivatives are scheduled to enter prototype production this year, for use by security and special operations forces.

Cost runs in the low thousands of dollars for a system, which includes two Eyeball devices and control and display units, according to Gal.

In its public debut at a technology exhibition here last month, O.D.F. products were shown installed on Israel 's Merkava main battle tank and adapted for special operations forces. An O.D.F. omni-directional imaging system also has been installed on the Hermes 450S unmanned aerial vehicle for use by the Israel Air Force, industry sources here said.

Small Package, Robust Abilities

Gal declined during a March 23 interview to provide details on the company's military programs, but confirmed that Israeli and U.S. forces have purchased technology it has developed. Nevertheless, he agreed to discuss the technology and the concept of operations behind Eyeball, one of the firm's flagship products.

"All the electronics inside are floating, and will be housed in three layers of rubber, which serve as shock absorbers," Gal said. "You can throw it, or shoot it from a specially equipped sniper's rifle, and it can stick to the wall or start transmitting as soon as it stabilizes."

Gal said up to eight Eyeball reconnaissance devices can operate in the same building on different frequencies for up to four hours. The self-contained devices include a lightweight, inexpensive plastic omni-directional lens, batteries, speaker and a microphone.

As for interpreting the imagery, Gal noted that his firm owns several proprietary technologies that are based on capturing and transmitting an omni-directional scene to an image sensor.

"The raw image transmitted by the omni-directional lens has a distorted shape that requires processing to be understandable to the human viewer," he said. "That's why we transmit our images to computers for image processing and display. It's difficult to deceive the camera, but when viewed through the naked eye, there's no orientation. That's where our software takes over and provides the orientation."

Gal noted that with the firm's specially designed reflective lens, "everything is in focus and you have an unlimited depth of field." He added that unique plastic lenses could be used for still photos or continuous, instant video.

Eyeing the Future

Another version of the Eyeball contains a motorized aperture sensor that can be remotely controlled to rotate and scan a full 360-degree perimeter, said Itsik Kattan, the company's chief operating officer.

Future versions of the Eyeball could include options for rechargeable battery packs for long-endurance operations, and advanced illumination components for wide-angle lighting of targeted areas in the visible and invisible spectrum, Gal said.

A Ministry of Defense official who supports the Eyeball concept said the system would have proved invaluable during Israel 's 37-day standoff with Palestinian gunmen in the spring of 2002 in the West Bank city of Bethlehem . Palestinian gunmen held some 100 people hostage in the Church of the Nativity, one of Christianity's holiest sites. While Israel employed various surveillance methods during the standoff, it lacked the ability to see and hear what was happening inside the church compound, the ministry official said.

"Gal has been a part of our system for more than 20 years," the official told Defense News. "He has a good sense of our mission requirements and an even better sense of how to apply technology in a practical and cost-effective way."

Nonsecurity applications of the omni-directional lens and interpretive software include surveillance and monitoring of commercial sites, medical endoscopes, traffic control and consumer electronics.