US Army Orders More Biometric Binoculars from SVI

StereoVision Imaging (SVI) has received a substantial follow-up order from the U.S. government. The deal specifically concerns SVI’s Facial Recognition Binocular System (FRBS).

As the name would imply, FRBS integrates facial recognition technology into a portable pair of binoculars. The device is intended to help identify subjects from a distance while in the field, which makes them extremely useful in surveillance and recon operations. SVI is the US Army’s sole provider of FRBS technology, according to the terms of a Joint Urgent Operational Need (JUON) statement from US Central Command (CENTCOM).

With the new order, the US will have purchased more than $4.5 million worth of FRBS technology from SVI. The new batch will be sent to the US Central and European Command theatres, with units expected to go out in the first quarter of 2021. SVI is hoping that its successful deployments with the army will eventually allow the FRBS solution to gain traction with other government agencies, including law enforcement and border patrol.

“With this next shipment, we believe we have entered an important next phase with the design and initial deployments of our FRBS,” said SVI Founder and President Gregory Steinthal. “We anticipate the program will soon advance to full production and look for it to transition into a formal program of record.”

SVI is best known as a developer of 2D and 3D/4D LiDAR tech, which can be leveraged for face and object recognition in addition to remote sensing. The company received eight continuation patents in October of 2019.

FRBS should provide army higher-ups with the information they need to make better strategic decisions. Hawkeye has emphasized the utility of facial recognition in previous SOCOM operations, while the Department of Defense has developed a cloud-based Basic Optical Biometric Analysis system to help soldiers differentiate friends from foes while in the field.

Source: Financial Post

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November 17, 2020 – by Eric Weiss