PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
Contact: Jane Platt, (818) 354-0880
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 24, 1996
NEW-GENERATION INFRARED CAMERA SCANS MALIBU FIRES
An experimental infrared camera developed by NASA helped a
Los Angeles TV news crew get a unique perspective on fires that
raced through the Southern California seaside community of Malibu
this week.
The hand-held camera, known as the Quantum Well Infrared
Photo Detector (QWIP), was developed by the Microdevices
Laboratory at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena,
CA, in partnership with Amber, a subsidiary of Raytheon Co.
The camera features infrared detectors which cover longer
wavelengths than previous detectors could. This allows the
camera to see through smoke and pinpoint lingering hotspots which
are not normally visible. It works effectively in both daylight
and nighttime conditions.
The technology proved useful for KCAL-TV, Channel 9 in Los
Angeles, as the station covered the dramatic Malibu fires. The
camera hopped a flight on the station's news helicopter Wednesday
night, along with JPL staff scientist Dr. Mani Sundaram. This
enabled the station to transmit live images of hotspots in areas
which appeared innocuous to the naked eye. These hotspots are a
source of concern and difficulty for firefighters, because they
can flare up even after the fire appears to have subsided.
The event marked the QWIP camera's debut as a fire observing
device. The technology has previously been used by NASA to
monitor launches of Space Shuttles and expendable rockets. In
addition, the camera has been used to observe volcanoes, mineral
formations, weather and atmospheric conditions. Potential
civilian applications include surveillance, night vision and
sophisticated medical imaging.
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10-24-96 JP
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