Military Night-Vision Outlines Objects like a Video Game

A first-person shooter video game highlights enemies (usually with an outline or dot) in a way that doesn’t exactly jive with reality. Because let’s face it – no one wants a game that’s too realistic, and in real-life, it’s hard to pick out objects from the background (especially in the dark). Well, the Army just unveiled a souped-up night-vision technology that makes the world look amazingly similar to Call of Duty.

Typical night-vision devices – like the AN/PVS-7 NVD, which came into use in the mid ‘80s – use passive technology to pick up ambient light and illuminates that area, often in monochrome shades of green (and sometimes blurry).

Aviation Specialties Unlimited, Inc. (ASU), which sells products like the AN/PVS-7, notes that it uses a single military-grade image intensification tube, and these often head-mounted devices also allow for IR laser sights, projecting a beam onto the target (visible through the device) and making it an active system.

I’ve used a head-mounted NVD before, and while it gets the job done, it’s far from ideal.

The US Army’s Lancer Brigade has showed off the new Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binoculars (ENVG-B), which provides man-sized target recognition of 80% probability at 150 meters (threshold) and 300 meters (objective) and 50% probability at 300 meters (threshold) and 550 meters (objective).

The ENVG-B uses a dual tubed binocular system “for improved situational awareness and depth perception,” and the white phosphor tubes – vs. the traditional green phosphor – provides better contrast and higher resolution, and the result is clearly-outlined people and objects. Almost like a video game.

The new Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binoculars (ENVG-B). Courtesy of U.S. Army

It even incorporates augmented reality aspects from the Nett Warrior display and wireless interconnectivity with the Family of Weapon Sight-Individual, (FWS-I).

Sadly, I’m long-past the point of being able to sample these, myself, but it looks like our military got a huge upgrade in the nightvision and situational awareness department.