Housing

From Night Vision Wiki
Revision as of 11:36, 26 January 2023 by Admin (talk | contribs)

This wiki currently differentiates the following housing types: Bi-ocular, Binocular, Monocular, Scope, Panoramic, Panoramic Binocular.

Monocular

A monocular housing consists of one objective lens, one image intensifier, and one eyepiece. It is worn in front of one eye.

Advantages

  • Least expensive
  • Lowest weight
  • One eye free[Note 1]

Housings

The following monocular housings have been documented on this wiki:

Bi-ocular

A bi-ocular housing consist of one objective lens, one image intensifier, a beam splitter, and two eyepieces. It is worn in front of both eyes, however providing no depth perception to the user.

Housings

The following bi-ocular housings have been documented on this wiki:

Binocular

A binocular housing consists of a bridge (sometimes with articulation) connected to two pods. Each pod consists of one objective lens, one image intensifier, and one eyepiece. It is worn in front of both eyes and provides the most natural viewing experience with full depth perception to the user.

Housings

The following binocular housings have been documented on this wiki:

Panoramic

A panoramic housing features two fused pods per eye, with one pod pointing forward, and an additional pod pointing sideways at an angle. As such, each side of the housing produces a field of view of two partially overlapping circles. For the user, this means that one half of this shape on one eye will overlap with the other half on the opposite eye, forming one shared field of view with full depth perception, with an additional peripheral field of vision on the left side for the left eye, and on the right side for the right eye.

Housings

The following binocular housings have been documented on this wiki:

Notes

  1. Using the unaided eye without having to take off the device is advantageous in some situations:
    • Environments with dynamic lighting, where the brighter areas can be observed without restriction
    • Focusing on nearby objects, given enough light, requires no focus adjustment (maps, text, electronic devices, signs, ...)
    • Aiming a weapon is less cumbersome

Further Reading

Study of the Army Research Laboratory:
A Comparison of Monocular, Biocular, and Binocular Night Vision Goggles for Traversing Off-road Terrain on Foot