SWIR Vision Systems Inc. today announced breakthrough capability for its quantum dot-based short wavelength infrared (SWIR) machine vision camera inspection product, and the Company announces the addition of a new strategic investor.
New Extended SWIR Machine Vision Camera: As lithium-ion battery technology plays a central role in the race toward mobile electrification, improved inspection capabilities are needed to help drive down cost, increase energy densities, and improve overall safety and reliability. Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) imaging is enabling new capabilities for lithium-ion battery inspection aimed at addressing these needs. High resolution, wide field-of-view, and extended wavelength SWIR cameras (with operation out to 2000 nm) have been put to work to overcome important lithium-ion battery inspection challenges to meet increasingly demanding performance and quality specifications.
“Battery capacity is proportional to the amount of overlapping electrode area achieved during assembly. Since visible imaging solutions are limited in their ability to see through the separator layer materials, underlying edges of electrodes can be obscured, thus preventing accurate edge identification and alignment,” commented George Wildeman, CEO of SWIR Vision. “Even small alignment errors on the order of 100 microns or less can have a meaningful impact on performance. Our product development team has worked with our customers to deliver an imaging solution to meet this challenge,” he added.
SWIR Vision announces the introduction of very high resolution, 2.1Mp Acuros® 1920 CQD® eSWIR cameras for Li:Ion Battery Inspection. The cameras have been designed directly with this application in mind. The optical transparency increases at higher wavelengths, becoming substantially transmissive beyond the visible spectrum where SWIR Vision System’s Acuros eSWIR cameras operate. Acuros 1920 eSWIR cameras are commercially available and shipping from SWIR Vision’s North Carolina based operations center. More details on the Acuros eSWIR cameras and their use in Li:Ion Battery inspection can be found here.
New Investor in SWIR Vision: During 2021, SWIR Vision previously announced a $5.0M Series A investment led by Keiretsu Capital with participation from Oval Park Capital, Blue Sky Capital, and several other key investors. In-Q-Tel, the not-for-profit that serves the national security interests of the U.S. and its allies, has recently joined as an additional strategic partner and investor. The new partnership with In-Q-Tel will aid SWIR Vision Systems in delivering its product roadmap faster.
“Government agencies increasingly require advanced infrared imaging and sensing solutions, similar to or exceeding what commercial enterprises need,” said Tom Gillespie, Managing Partner, In-Q-Tel. “SWIR Vision’s CQD SWIR sensor technology provides a unique solution to this problem that we believe can provide value to our intelligence and national security partners. We are glad to welcome them to the In-Q-Tel portfolio.”
“We are very pleased to add In-Q-Tel as a SWIR Vision strategic partner and investor,” said Wildeman. “In-Q-Tel is uniquely positioned to advance engagement between product developers such as SWIR Vision and their key Government clients with a direct technology need.”
About SWIR Vision Systems – SWIR Vision Systems, a North Carolina based startup company, pioneers high definition, colloidal quantum dot infrared image sensor technology for infrared cameras, delivering breakthrough sensor capability. Imaging in the short wavelength infrared is critical for key applications within the industrial, mobile phone, and autonomous vehicle markets. The company manufactures and exports it’s EAR-99 designated Acuros CQD SWIR cameras from its operations center in Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.