Researcher Develops Lightweight And Thin Night Vision Tech

Anyone who has watched a movie or the Discovery Channel and seen anything with military night vision tech knows how big and bulky the current generation of night vision goggles are. Not only are night vision goggles bulky, but they need lots of power as well.

A scientist at the University of Florida has developed new night vision technology that borrows some tech we are familiar with from the notebook computer industry. Researcher Franky So uses LEDs and a new thin, flexible film he developed to convert infrared light into visible images for the wearer.

The design that So has developed would weigh under a quarter of a pound and the proof of concept design is only a single square centimeter. So claims that a full-scale device would weigh as little as 10 grams though and be only microns thick. The new design could be applied to eyeglasses, cell phones, and windshields in cars eventually.