Flir Leads in Night-Vision Gear

The company's infrared systems are a mainstay for border security and in Iraq and Afghanistan, and could one day be as common in cars as GPS

The night-vision system in some BMW models is powered by an infrared camera tucked in the grille of the car. The camera is made by Flir Systems, a military contractor that's been rapidly expanding into new commercial markets.

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By Douglas Macmillan

October 27, 2008 at 9:01 AM UTC

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It's late at night on a foggy country road and you're behind the wheel of a new BMW 7 Series when you fail to notice a deer in your path 30 feet ahead. But an infrared camera, tucked inside the grille of your car, detects its body heat, produces an image of the deer on the dashboard screen, and sounds an alarm. You slam on the brakes, avoiding a potentially deadly collision.

Once found only in the imagination of science fiction writers, infrared technology is now being deployed to detect land mines in Afghanistan, scan the U.S.-Mexico border for drugs and weapons, and extend the nighttime vision of drivers beyond the distance of their headlights. These and other applications for "dual-use" thermal imaging (which means it's utilized by commercial and military customers) make up a $2.5 billion industry that's growing nearly 20% a year, according to market researcher Maxtech International.