At the National Tactical Officers Association annual conference in Kansas City, Missouri, Bounce Imaging has unveiled what it claims is the world’s first 360° panoramic thermal-imaging tactical throwable camera for the military and law enforcement.
For armed standoffs, hostage situations, or other incidents where putting your head around the corner is a very bad idea, throwable cameras have definitely found a market. Looking like heavy rubber cricket balls, these devices are covered in camera lenses and are tough enough to be rolled across floors, down stairs, and thrown through windows – even closed ones.
They can also be lowered on tethers or stuck on the end of poles. Bounce Imagining has even demonstrated how they can be placed at strategic locations by a Boston Dynamics quadbot with a robotic arm like something out of a mechanical nightmare.
Once on station, these throwable cameras can send back images to a digital device, relay sounds in the area, and even allow communications via a two-way audio link.
Called the Pit Viper 360, the new Bouncing Image throwable differs from others in that it not only sends back color or infrared images, it can also capture and transmit thermal images, which can zero in on objects warmer or cooler than the surroundings, like a human being or a machine generating heat or cold.
In addition, the company says that the camera replaces the pan/tilt motors and expensive camera arrays normally used to cover large areas with six thermal imaging cores. The output from these is used to generate a full panoramic view in real time with stabilized video and very low latency in a package with very low size, weight, and power requirements.
The Pit Viper 360 will be available for sale next year. No price has been released yet.
Source: Bounce Imaging
