The first thing that comes to our mind regarding night vision goggles is seeing everything in green, literally. You have seen it in movies or while playing your favourite FPS game.
That’s how it was until US Army‘s Lancer Brigade just made it an ancient technology by unveiling the all new Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular—or ENVG-B.These new goggles seem to solve the problem in the existing technology. With the all new ENVG-B, soldiers not only can see what’ going around them under any lighting conditions but also recognize what they are seeing.
Remember the movie, Alien vs Predator? Looks like the Predator’s visor.
Have a look at the video below of the new night vision goggles:
The existing ones worked by transforming the photons which are gathered in a low-light environment into electrons that were further amplified as they pass through a vaccum tube which eventually lits up a phosphorcoated screen that provided the green image.
The reason for choosing the color green was due to the ease of looking at the surroundings for a prolonged period in the dark. But the moment there’s a bright light, it becomes difficult to see and feels as if you are stunned.
What’s new in the ENVG-B Night Vision Goggles?
In the new goggles, the green phosphors tubes are upgraded to white ones that product brighter images & better contrast. It also includes a thermal imager that makes it possible to see through objects or obstructions like smoke & dust.
The goggles are wireless and can communicate with an electronic scope mounted on a weapon. This enables the soldier to look through & aim without having to expose themselves to the threat.
How much does the goggle weigh? 2 pounds. Sounds heavy since theycarry a battery that runs for 8 hours on one charge. There’s no need of any head straps to keep them in place and soldiers can simply flip down the goggles from the helmet.
Looks like US Army is heading towards advanced warfare and ready to roll. The Army started fielding the new goggles in 2019 & will most likely start using this new tech in combat soon.
