New Driver’s Vision Enhancement System “VIRTUS” demonstrated at Eurosatory 2004
EUROSATORY, PARIS-NORD, VILLEPINTE, FRANCE, 14 June 2004 – On the occasion of Eurosatory 2004, Zeiss Optronik, Oberkochen, Germany; Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, München, Germany; and Barco, Kortrijk, Belgium have demonstrated a new, jointly developed indirect driver sight system for night driving purposes. The new system, named “VIRTUS” (Visual and Infra-Red Technology for Unlimited Sight), uses the expertise of all three companies and offers an effective solution to visualize the invisible.
VIRTUS combines a sophisticated, Dual-Band Sensor Head made by Zeiss Optronik with Barco’s state-of-the-art 10” BARCO VECTOR® driver display system, featuring an integrated video mixing function. The heart of VIRTUS consists of a specific algorithm that is able to merge images made by an infrared camera and by an Image-Intensified Charge Coupled Device (I²CCD) into a single, combined image. The system works without any active illumination of the scenery and provides a very powerful solution for vision enhancement under conditions of low visibility, such as dark nights, hard rain or fog. During extensive trials in Germany, the system proved very effective.The first VIRTUS prototype has been integrated into Krauss-Maffei Wegmann’s multi-role armoured vehicle BOXER. Inside the BOXER, VIRTUS delivers clear and sharp images of the surrounding scenery and allows the driver to reliably identify obstacles and dangerous areas on the road, both by day and at night. When driving with VIRTUS, the driver maintains complete control over the vehicle while being fully protected from the outside. Thanks to its two sensors - one for visual and one for thermal infrared radiation - no information escapes VIRTUS.
VIRTUS is the result of a two-year cooperation between Zeiss Optronik, Krauss- Maffei Wegmann, and Barco. At Eurosatory, the system was presented with a 10" BARCO VECTOR® display system. In the future, Barco plans to integrate the algorithm into the complete BARCO VECTOR® line, including 7", 10", and 12" systems. Thanks to its compact and rugged design, VIRTUS allows for easy integration into a wide range of vehicles.
About Zeiss Optronik
Zeiss Optronik GmbH is a fully owned subsidiary of the Carl Zeiss Group with headquarters in Oberkochen/Württemberg. Based on its decades of experience Zeiss Optronik develops, manufactures, and distributes optronic devices and systems, mainly to fulfill the demands of the German Bundeswehr and of allied armed forces.
The product range includes sensors such as thermal imagers, laser rangefinders, and TV systems for applications under harsh environmental conditions as well as high-accuracy stabilized sensor platforms and periscopes. Furthermore, complete mobile and stationary border surveillance systems are offered. Constantly high product and process quality is guaranteed by a quality management system, certified in accordance with DIN EN ISO 9001.
Contact: Christine Mast
Marketing Communications Manager
Tel: +49 7364 20 4714
E-mail: ch.mast@zeiss.de
About Krauss-Maffei Wegman
Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), based in Munich and Kassel, Germany, is Europe´s leading systems company in the area of tracked and wheeled armoured vehicles. Worldwide, future requirements in the field of light and heavy armoured vehicles of the branches artillery, main battle tanks, air defence, wheeled vehicles and engineering equipment are being conceptionally dealt with and realised by KMW. The company offers a full product range from heavy main battle tanks to light armoured wheeled vehicles. In all currently running large-scale vehicle programmes of the German Army, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann is the system leader.
Contact: Rosemarie Schüssler
Department Manager Public Relations
Tel: +49 89 8140 4675
E-mail: rosemarie.schuessler@kmweg.de
About Barco
Barco, an international company headquartered in Kortrijk, Belgium, provides visualization and display solutions for professional markets. Barco designs and develops solutions for large screen visualization, display solutions for life-critical applications, and systems for visual inspection. Barco has a network of subsidiaries, distributors and agents in almost 100 countries. Barco is quoted on Euronext Brussels and is a BEL 20 and a Next 150 company.
