So you are pretty smug with your latest DSLR that crams in far more megapixels than you ever imagined, but as usual, the big boys over at the military have a toy that is far superior to what you hold in the palm of your hands. In fact, scientists over at Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have every intention of coming up with high powered scopes and cameras for soldiers and Marines to use in the battlefield, where these are touted to be up to 2,000 times more powerful compared to current imaging capabilities. In fact, a recent test showcase the camera’s ability to read signs and license plates up to 270 yards away.
Powered by the Advanced Wide Field of View Architectures for Image Reconstruction and Exploitation (AWARE) program with Duke University, the recent test relied on a 1-gigapixel camera which comprises of 100 micro-cameras. The ultimate goal from the folks over at DARPA? They’ve certainly set quite a high bar to conform to, as we are talking about a 50-gigapixel camera which might eventually arrive at the intended 2,000 times more powerful mark compared to the cameras of today. The next progressive step would be the construction of a 10-gigapixel camera that has double range of the earlier mentioned license plate reading capability.
I guess DARPA’s 50-gigapixel camera would eventually be able to spot those nasty black heads on the face of their intelligence target from miles away. Snipers would love to have such a scope, don’t you think so?