Night Vision Technologies
Night vision technologies can be broadly divided into three main categories:
- Image intensification
- Image intensification technologies work on the principle of magnifying the amount of received photons from various natural sources such as starlight or moonlight. Examples of such technologies include night glasses and low light cameras.
- Active illumination
- Active illumination technologies work on the principle of coupling imaging intensification technology with an active source of illumination in the near infrared (NIR) or shortwave infrared (SWIR) band. Examples of such technologies include low light cameras.
- Thermal imaging
- Thermal imaging technologies work by detecting the temperature difference between the background and the foreground objects. Some organisms are able to sense a crude thermal image by means of special organs that function as bolometers. This allows thermal infrared sensing in snakes, which functions by detection of thermal radiation.
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