HGH Infrared Systems - Experts & Thought Leaders

The fight against illegal immigration across the channel is a top priority for the French and British authorities. To address this, the two countries have signed an agreement funded by London to the tune of 72.2 million euros for the period 2022-2023. The aim is to set up a “smart border” based on advanced technologies to secure the coastline and avoid drowning on board makeshift boats. It is in this context that the French company HGH has been asked by the Ministry of Interior to provide several SPYNEL infrared panoramic detection solutions. These systems allow for permanent and continuous surveillance in addition to the temporary surveillance means such as patrols, drones and aeroplanes used to monitor the one hundred and fifty kilometres of coastline of the Nord and Pas-de-Calais departments. CYCLOPE software The smugglers' ploy is constantly evolving, which is why French authorities are multiplying sensors and surveillance solutions to succeed in preventing the departure of migrants before a tragedy occurs. SPYNEL panoramic surveillance cameras monitor day and night delineated areas within a 10 km radius Equipped with the CYCLOPE software, SPYNEL panoramic surveillance cameras monitor day and night delineated areas within a ten-kilometre radius. The infrared sensors instantly alert the police command centres if migrants are detected while taking their boat to sea.  "Image processing and artificial intelligence algorithms have been developed on the CYCLOPE software to trigger an alarm only in case of detection of groups of people near the water, to avoid false alarms and act quickly. The SPYNEL solution is ideal for this need because it allows continuous and intelligent monitoring of the coastline over a very long distance," explains Edouard Campana, responsible for the SPYNEL range at HGH. Innovative solutions More than 45,000 migrants reached the English coast illegally in 2022 by crossing the channel on makeshift boats. Since 2014, more than 200 people have lost their lives trying to cross the channel from the northern coast of France.  With the implementation of the "smart border", French and British authorities have strengthened their collaboration with the aim of safeguarding human life thanks to innovative solutions.

HGH showcases its new generation SPYNEL-U 360° panoramic thermal and visible camera surveillance system at ISC West. The optronic expert reinvented this maintenance-free, uncooled thermal imaging camera from design to performance to provide unrivalled situational awareness. The dual-channel SPYNEL-U when used in conjunction with CYCLOPE advanced image processing software provides multiple threat detection, day and night, even in adverse weather conditions. The SPYNEL range is world-renowned in the defence and security sectors. Spynel-U offers both a thermal and visible high resolution panoramic channel on the same sensor. While the high contrast thermal panoramic video is ideal for real-time long-distance detection and tracking, the high-resolution visible panorama enables the rapid identification of the detected threats. Protect critical infrastructure The new SPYNEL-U design utilises the same base as SPYNEL-X and SPYNEL-S, supporting straightforward sensor interchangeability on platforms and tripods. Employ the SPYNEL-U to protect critical infrastructure such as ports, airports, nuclear plants and prisons, as well as at public events and demonstrations. Jeffrey Anderson, General Manager of HGH’s United States subsidiary said: ‘’At ISC West, attendees will discover the only sensor in the world providing both a thermal and visible panoramic video. SPYNEL-U is a reliable uncooled technology requiring no maintenance; we are very excited about the evolution of its performance and its impressive visible and thermal image quality.’’

Optronics expert, HGH Infrared Systems announces the launch of its new tagline, Enlighten the Unseen as the company grows and harmonises its global brand. The new positioning reinforces HGH’s one-stop company model for wide area surveillance, industrial thermography and infrared - visible test and measurement applications. Global branding harmonisation US subsidiary Electro Optical Industries updated its logo to reflect its HGH Group association The HGH Group began worldwide brand harmonisation efforts in March 2019 in order to strengthen the company’s identity, while expanding its high electro-optics market position with innovative high-tech products and services. Asia Infrared Systems, HGH’s subsidiary in Singapore, has been a marketed HGH brand for nearly a year. In alignment with this current brand harmonisation promotion, US subsidiary Electro Optical Industries updated its logo to reflect its HGH Group association. “As part of our global branding harmonisation, HGH’s new brand signature is a result of an internal survey in which employees made suggestions to express HGH’s vision. It was important to strengthen employee engagement in the building of the HGH Group,” said Thierry Campos, HGH Group CEO. High performance electro-optical devices  Jeffrey Anderson, Electro Optical Industries Inc. General Manager explains, “Enlighten the Unseen demonstrates our unique position, not only as the optronic expert of optical scenes, but also in how we do business, with passion and innovation.” HGH Infrared Systems’ innovative culture and desire to provide unique market solutions drive an increased product research and development investment. “Enlighten the Unseen reinforces the Group’s commitment to deliver innovative, high performance and reliable electro-optical devices, to better serve our customers today and in the future,” added Vincent Leboucher, HGH Deputy General Manager. HGH Infrared Systems will impart Enlighten the Unseen across all its markets in 2020.

Drone is a toy with a bright future—until it causes a catastrophe Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, are today’s gizmo du jour. A recent Bloomberg article reported that Amazon alone is selling more than 10,000 a month, and with prices as low as $50, it’s a toy with a bright future—until it causes a catastrophe. Consider the January incident at the White House when a drunken National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency employee lost control of a quadcopter device and crashed it onto the southeast corner of the grounds. This kind of mishap could happen to anyone, drunk or sober, because as Tom Fuentes, CNN’s law enforcement analyst said, “They have flimsy comms systems, and it’s easy for people to lose control of them. It’s like losing the wifi signal, and the controller can’t do anything.” In this case, it is theorised that the user hadn’t set the drone’s “home point” properly so the drone got confused about its location and flew away. There have been dozens of incidents involving close encounters with aircraft, but the FAA hasn’t yet created rules for the small crafts. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), in November, formally declared that a UAV operated commercially is considered to be an aircraft under 14 C.F.R. § 91.13(a), so its operator may be subject to civil penalties for violating federal aviation regulations. However, most offenders aren’t like the partying government employee who self-reported the incident, and it’s difficult to track down users. Drones have flimsy comms systems, and it’s easy for people to lose control of them Fred Roggero, former Air Force chief of safety, recently said on CNN that drones can carry “…50 lbs of stuff on some that look like an aircraft.” Obviously, 50 pounds of any sort of explosive or chemical, biological, nuclear or biological weaponry would do some serious damage. Thus, a new industry is born—drone detection. Jamming signals is against the law in the U.S., even though it may ultimately be the best way to drop a drone in its tracks once it’s detected. Firing on one wouldn’t help because the bullets or the rocket would rain down somewhere and could harm innocents. Boston-based HGH Infrared Systems is one drone-detection firm. It has several different models of what it calls Spynel, a camera system which goes up to a resolution of 120 megapixels. The cameras record in real time and, as the continuously spinning camera head takes an HD panoramic image of an entire area, the proprietary software automatically detects and tracks an unlimited number of targets (land, air, maritime). “Our detection range for a person on the Spynel X is up to 8 km, 15 km for a car, and up to 30 km for a tank/boat,” reports the company in an email. Drones can carry “…50 lbs of stuff on some that look like an aircraftPhoto credited: U.S. Secret Service/Reuters  According to Katie Shea, HGH Infrared’s marketing manager, “Radars are not ideal for tracking the small, low-heat UAVs because of their low profile and low speed. Infrared sensors and Spynel work well because they are completely passive and our high-resolution infrared thermal cameras can pick up low heat deltas between ambient temperatures and the electric engine UAVs, as well as the low-speed, smaller UAVs.” John Franklin, a Washington, D.C.-based engineer started an Indiegogo campaign and ultimately created the DroneShield™. Concerned that drones with attached cameras could easily spy on regular folks, the Indiegogo site proclaims that “DroneShield is a device that detects the presence of nearby drones (including RC helicopters, quadrotors, etc) and issues alerts via email, sms, and/or a flashing light. The goal is to help preserve your privacy from low-cost remote-control air vehicles with video cameras.” He managed to raise more than $8,000, and now sells the devices online. Franklin’s site envisions various uses, from protecting private property to military installations and critical infrastructure. So does competitor Drone Labs, with its Drone Detector. CEO Zain Naboulsi claims it is unlike other systems because it “…can see air, ground, and water-based threats. Auditory detection alone, for example, can typically only detect aerial drones and be easily defeated. Our technology uses multi-factor authentication to determine the confidence level of a threat. While no drone detection technology is foolproof, Drone Detector is the only detection product on the market today that is built to detect most threats regardless of where they originate.” Now, we have to figure out a way to find out who’s doing the flying.