Obsidian Sensors Selected for U.S. Army DUTCH Program to Deliver High-Resolution Thermal Cameras at Attritable Prices

Obsidian's DUTCH project goal is twofold: drive down cost and increase manufacturing scale (volume) for high-resolution thermal imaging without sacrificing performance. Under the award, Obsidian will deliver thermal cameras at attritable price points, using its proprietary Large Area MEMS Platform (LAMP) manufacturing process.

LAMP represents a fundamental departure from the thermal imaging industry's conventional manufacturing approach. Rather than fabricating MEMS thermal sensors on expensive silicon wafers, Obsidian fabricates its proprietary MEMS structures on large glass substrates 20 times larger in area than an 8-inch wafer — inside a standard flat-panel display factory. The approach allows Obsidian to leverage the scale, throughput, and cost structure of the display industry rather than the semiconductor industry to produce thermal imaging sensors.

Obsidian is already shipping VGA-resolution thermal cameras at prices consistent with the cost guidelines set out under the Drone Dominance program, and the company is on track to unveil its next resolution tier, SVGA, by the end of this year, followed by SXGA in 2027.

"The thermal imaging industry has made great strides in improving performance and resolution over the past 30 years, but the production strategy got locked into a high-cost proposition," said John Hong, co-founder and CEO of Obsidian Sensors. "We set out to change the cost and manufacturing scale aspects of the technology with something new, and succeeded — and fortuitously, it is a capability that is becoming a critical support for the Drone Dominance program. At scale, our technology will be an order of magnitude lower in cost than incumbents."

"What we do in the days to come, not just on the DUTCH program but also the spin-up of our new packaging factory in San Diego, will be foundational to making attritable-priced thermal imaging the new standard, not the exception," said Tallis Chang, co-founder and COO of Obsidian Sensors.

About Obsidian Sensors

Obsidian Sensors is a San Diego, California-based thermal imaging company developing high-resolution uncooled thermal cameras manufactured at scale using its proprietary Large Area MEMS Platform (LAMP) process. By fabricating MEMS thermal sensors on Gen 4.5 glass substrates within standard flat-panel display factories — rather than on conventional 8-inch silicon wafers — Obsidian is able to produce thermal imaging sensors at significantly lower cost and higher volume than legacy manufacturing approaches allow. Obsidian's cameras are already deployed at VGA resolution in volume, with SVGA and SXGA formats in development to support next-generation defense and commercial applications, including uncrewed aerial systems, loitering munitions, and other attritable platforms.

Media contact:
Tallis Chang
[email protected]

SOURCE Obsidian Sensors