Products > Thermal Imaging
GB SOLO SoloVision Stealth & Fire - something a bit different - Bi-Ocular TIC.
Fraser:
For those who like to see something a little different to the common thermal imaging camera/scope formats, I present to you GB SOLO SoloVision Stealth and Fire Bi-Ocular thermal imaging scopes.
So what makes it different ? Well this is an early generation of Bi-Ocular handheld and helmet mounted thermal imaging scope for use in the Fire, LEA and SAR roles. The unit was created by GB Solo in the UK and was intended to be a versatile thermal imaging scope that presents its images to the user via a pair of LCD panels, rather than a single CRT monitor or LCD panel. Note that this unit does not present a stereoscopic image as a single imaging core drives a pair of miniature LCD panels that, in turn, present the images to the users eyes via prisms. This may sound familiar to some readers of a certain age. The twin eyepieces and the use of prisms was part of the Olympus EyeTrek VR glasses design. I have my suspicions that the SoloVision uses the Olympus EyeTrek display assemblies.
This particular unit appeared on eBay and its quirkiness drew me to it. There was not much interest in the unit so it ended up in my collection. The kit comprises the main head unit that contains the imaging core and display components and Ni-Mh battery pack that powers the head unit. A helmet/neck strap holds the Main head unit and battery pack in a neat package that may be suspended around the neck, like standard binoculars, or affixed to to a safety helmet for hands free operation. I have to admit, the "hands free" deployment looks more than a little unwieldy !
I was fortunate in that the kit that I purchased appears to have been a "demonstrator" that has the temperature measurement option and all the original kits components, including manual and battery charger. The only physical damage that I can find is some stress related cracking of the thin LCD eyepiece protection acrylic sheet, and that is easily replaced. The camera does not currently work (OSD but no thermal image) but I do not expect anything too challenging to be wrong with it.
For those interested in the "front end" design, the SoloVision contains a Raytheon/L3 2500AS 160 x 120 pixel thermal imaging core with temperature measurement capability. The lens fitted in my unit is the longer range 25mm version. A wider angle lens is fitted to the SoloVision FIRE model. The lens has the ability to be manual focussed for the sharpest possible imaging. The unit provides a composite video output on the battery pack for an external monitor or RF video transmitter.
The power pack contains a battery management PCB and four 2000mAh Ni-Mh cells. The power button on the head unit sends a "power on" signal to the battery pack via a wire in the umbilical cable.
The SoloVision will undergo a teardown in order to repair it and this will be documented in this thread when undertaken.
Fraser:
Pictures of my SoloVision kit.....
Fraser:
Pictures continued......
The final picture shows the SoloVision sitting on top of a Audio CD to show its size. It is roughly the size of a CD case.
dalittle:
Since I am an old timer, I can offer a little entertainment history on the British camera manufacturer GB Solo. Their original product from the early to mid-1990s was the SOLOtic. (See uploaded data sheet.) This camera/helmet/mask unit was designed for firefighters. It incorporated a very early attempt at an in-mask heads-up display although the image was far from 1:1. Although it is primitive by today’s standards, it was very unique and innovative at the time.
The original camera engine in the SOLOtic was an EEV pyroelectric vidicon core. Something happened somewhere along the way and GB Solo switched to using a derivative of our (ISG) early PEV core. As the years went by, they switched to our cores that ran a ULIS 160x120, and I think a 320x240 as well, probably the 35u variant, I can’t recall exactly. The 320x240 may have even been the 45u variant.
There was a time that ISG were selling the SOLOtic product on behalf of GB SOLO in America but the product didn’t do well here since it was in competition with the CairnsIRIS firefighting TIC. Additionally, NFPA regulations do not allow for use of a mask that did not come with (and not certified with) its corresponding SCBA set. In Europe, you can use a third-party mask, and the demand valve fittings are not proprietary (at least that was the rule at the time.)
The ISG / GB Solo arrangement was almost a sort of nuisance OEM deal for us because it required a special build camera core and was low in volume. GB Solo eventually started using Raytheon AS2000 and AS2500 a:Si FPAs (later L3 Comms.)
You’d think GB meant Great Britain. It does not. It stands for Gordon Brooks, the founder.
Later in life, after Brooks retired, the company was managed by his kids. They even developed and started using their own bespoke camera cores in newer products. I was told that they used their own cores until the engineer who designed and built the cores buggered off to India.
I think today, what is left of GB Solo is incorporated into the French company Group Leader.
I know there are many old timers on this board. Especially the e2v people. Please correct me if my recollection is inaccurate.
Thanks,
David
Solotic.pdf (251.92 kB - downloaded 11 times.)
Fraser:
Dave,
I really enjoy hearing about the companies involved in early development of thermal imaging products. It was a time of innovation and clever people developing novel thermal imaging solutions. GB Solo look to be a company that was not afraid to be different in terms of their thermal imaging camera formats. Whilst the Solovision is an interesting design, it is more of a handheld unit than a helmet mount due to its bulk. I cannot imagine a fire fighter being comfortable with such a unit clamped to their mask and obscuring most of their visible light vision. The use of, what appears to be, the Olympus VR glasses display modules is novel and enables the unit to be smaller as it avoids the usual single LCD panel with close vision lens. That said, as the owner of many Olympus EyeTrek VR glasses, I can state that prolonged use of them really strains the eyes ! Added to that there is the issue of I Ge processing delay and the disorientation of the user whilst looking through the head mounted thermal imaging unit. A novel design, but I think it unlikely that it was that popular with fire brigades when better, more user friendly designs existed in the market place. I have a suspicion that my unit was a GB solo demonstration unit as it has labels on it that I would not expect to see on a unit sold to a customer. It has definitely not see fire fighting service where smoke permeates the materials. The strap is like new so has clearly not seen much use as these quickly get a bit worn. For me it is an interesting curio but also evidence that manufacturers in the 1990’s and 2000’s were thinking outside the box and trying new imager unit formats. I also own the much more recent HALO helmet mounted thermal imaging system and, whilst it looks good, that also suffers from practical use limitations. As a Security and surveillance tool, the SoloVision would likely have been a very useful product as it would be used in its “Binoculars” mode and held to the users face when needed. In that respect, the unit is an early version of the FLIR BHS/BHM Thermal binoculars and GB Solo should be applauded for their forward thinking. In the security version there was even a pressure switch that only enabled the displays when the units rubber light seal was pressed to the users face to avoid light leakage revealing the users position to the targets. Nice idea. I love to see innovation rather than companies just copying the market leaders products and product formats. That does carry risk though.
Fraser
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