Lockheed's new camera puts a space telescope in your pocket

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By Matthew Griffin Industrial Revolution 7th September 2017

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Increasingly we’re using new, and advanced, optical systems to monitor everything that goes on around us, both on Earth and in space, and the more the sensors improve the more we can watch.

Today’s space telescopes, like the Hubble or the newest kid on the block, the $8.7Bn James Webb telescope, a 21 foot wide telescope that can see a Bee on the Moon from a million miles away, are big, normally very big. But then again that’s what you’d expect if you wanted to peer into the furthest corners of space, and their size is driven by their need to pack in a huge number of bulky lenses, sensors and other optical goodies.

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Now though Lockheed Martin think they’ve solved that problem and they’ve just unveiled the first images from their Segmented Planar Imaging Detector for Electro-Optical Reconnaissance (SPIDER) platform – an optical instrument that promises pictures as sharp as what you’d expect from a multi-billion dollar, giant space telescope, but in a sensor that’s just an inch thick.

The technology works like this – instead of using a handful of monolithic lenses SPIDER relies on a bunch of small lenses whose data is divided and recombined using something called a Photonic Circuit, which is something like an integrated circuit you find in today’s modern computer chips, and while the initial results aren’t spectacular, they hold a lot of promise, and they’ll only get better over time as Lockheed develop the technology further.

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As you can see below, the images are fuzzy compared to the source material, but it’s important to remember that this the prototype of an entire optical system that’s much smaller and lighter than anything we’ve previously been used to, and as a result that means it’s very impressive.

Furthermore, Lockheed expects the new instrument to be a lot cheaper than today’s bulkier systems and there’s an added bonus – because it’s so light and compact customers won’t have to spend as much money launching it into space. The upsides just keep getting better, and if SPIDER enters service then more countries and companies could consider building their own telescopes.

Lockheed also added that the technology wouldn’t just be limited to space based use cases either – UAVs like the ones from Elbit Systems that I’ve written about before, as well as other Pervasive Surveillance Systems, systems that watch everyone everywhere all the time, as well as regular drones, fighter jets and self-driving cars will also benefit.

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While you probably won’t see this tech show up in your next smartphone anytime soon, because even though it’s thinner than a pencil it’s still too big, it’ll be a big boost for devices that today rely on bulky alternatives.

Look up and say cheese!

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Matthew Griffin, described as “The Adviser behind the Advisers” and a “Young Kurzweil,” is the founder and CEO of the World Futures Forum and the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures consultancy working across the next 50 years, and is an award winning futurist, and author of “Codex of the Future” series.

Regularly featured in the global media, including AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, RT, Viacom, and WIRED, Matthew’s ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of revolutionary emerging technologies on global culture, industry and society, is unparalleled. Recognised for the past six years as one of the world’s foremost futurists, innovation and strategy experts Matthew is an international speaker who helps governments, investors, multi-nationals and regulators around the world envision, build and lead an inclusive, sustainable future.

A rare talent Matthew’s recent work includes mentoring Lunar XPrize teams, re-envisioning global education and training with the G20, and helping the world’s largest organisations envision and ideate the future of their products and services, industries, and countries.

Matthew's clients include three Prime Ministers and several governments, including the G7, Accenture, Aon, Bain & Co, BCG, Credit Suisse, Dell EMC, Dentons, Deloitte, E&Y, GEMS, Huawei, JPMorgan Chase, KPMG, Lego, McKinsey, PWC, Qualcomm, SAP, Samsung, Sopra Steria, T-Mobile, and many more.