What if you had the capability to extend your eyes hundreds of feet below the surface, with complete 360-degree coverage at all times? The U.S. Army funded Genex Technologies of Kensington, MD, to develop an omnidirectional surveillance camera for wide field-of-detection on missile seekers. Genex developed the system for the Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) to provide soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq with a tool to inspect wells and underground areas. The company partnered with Alion Science and Technology, a global research and development company, to incorporate the omnidirectional surveillance technology in the OmniEye WellCam™, a 360-degree video surveillance system.

The OmniEye WellCam is small enough to navigate narrow gaps in collapsed buildings during an emergency.

How it Works

The WellCam enables faster inspection of hard-to-reach places, and is used for searching holes, shipping containers, oil pipelines, building rubble, wells, infrastructure, and other small areas that are difficult to see. It fits in the palm of your hand and weighs less than six ounces. It is weatherproof and mobile, and has a detachable video/power cable so that operators can easily deploy it into deep areas hundreds of feet below the surface. Constant panoramic feedback is available by viewing the video with a mobile display.

The omnidirectional surveillance system sees in all directions. A single system can cover a wide area that previously required multiple systems. The ability to see in a 360-degree view is achieved by using a 3D imaging camera and a convex mirror. The mirror reflects a complete view of its surroundings into the camera, which transmits the images to a computer. Software then removes distortion in the picture and presents the image on a computer screen.