HOPEWELL JUNCTION, N.Y. & ALLENTOWN, Pa., October. 7, 2003. eMagin Corporation, a manufacturer of active matrix OLED microdisplays, and Night Vision Equipment Company, manufacturer of night vision and laser products, announced that eMagin's OLED displays are featured in Night Vision Equipment Company's HelmetIR helmet, which was introduced at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Expo in Washington, DC and at the US Naval Institute Warfare Exposition in Virginia Beach, VA.
The HelmetIR-50 is a lightweight, military helmet mounted thermal imager, which provides hands-free operation. Unlike image intensified night observation devices, the HelmetIR incorporates an amorphous silicon microbolometer, which allows viewers to see through total darkness, battlefield obscurants, and even foliage. The near-eye OLED (organic light emitting diode) display and optic is designed to minimize illumination of the user's face to protect the user. The OLED display provides a clear high-resolution image (800 x 600 pixels) that can be seen from a wide viewing angle even at below freezing and high temperatures. The HelmetIR is provided with a fully maneuverable monocular eyepiece designed to quickly attach or detach to the standard flip-up helmet mount used with standard night vision goggles for interchange between team members equipped with helmet-mounted goggles.
"Our new military and security thermal imaging system provides a compact way for personnel to rapidly identify threats and quickly sense sources of heat," said Bill Grube, president of Night Vision Equipment Company, Inc. "eMagin's OLED display provides wide angle, natural, high contrast imaging that uses minimal power and operates over a wide range of temperatures without any power consuming display heaters."
"Night Vision Equipment Company's thermal imaging system is one of the lightest weight and flexible head mounted systems on the market. This product establishes a new level of performance for low cost, compact thermal imaging systems for military applications," commented Gary Jones, president and chief executive officer of eMagin.
eMagin combines integrated circuits, microdisplays, and optics to create a virtual image similar to the real image of a computer monitor or large screen TV. eMagin invented the SVGA and SVGA-3D OLED microdisplays, the single-chip color video OLED microdisplay and embedded controller for advanced virtual imaging. eMagin's microdisplay systems are expected to enable new mass markets for wearable personal computers, wireless Internet appliances, portable DVD-viewers, digital cameras, and other emerging applications for consumer, industrial, and military applications. OLED microdisplays demonstrate performance characteristics important to military and other demanding commercial and industrial applications including low power consumption, high brightness and resolution, wide dimming range, wider temperature operating ranges, shock and vibration resistance, and insensitivity to high G-forces.
eMagin's corporate headquarters and microdisplay operations are co-located with IBM on its campus in East Fishkill, N.Y. Optics and system design facilities are located at its wholly owned subsidiary, Virtual Vision, Inc., in Redmond, WA.
Night Vision Equipment Company (NVEC), a privately held company, has been making specialized night vision devices for over two decades. Located in Allentown, PA and Prescott Valley, AZ, NVEC manufactures night vision and laser products for US Government military and federal agencies. NVEC is working closely with several DoD agencies to develop new products for Combat Search & Rescue, Close Air Support and Combat Identification.
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