Quote History Quoted:
I used to think digi scopes would replace the tube in say 15 years or so. I still think digi scopes will be part of the future. Thermal is getting so good and cheap I made need to rethink. Thermal may just be the tube killer of the future.
Time will tell but recognition is getting real close to what a tube can do.
View Quote
I think the next generation of devices will be a mixture of technologies; a sort of fork in the road. It will take a while for the dust to settle and which dominant technology will take over.
You have innovation in the traditional i2 arena; technology like Intevacvs digital-output image intensifier. photonis has some interesting ideas regarding the spectrum of i2, enhanced sensitivity to visible light spectrum, plus Intevac is working towards sensitivity in the near IR range too.
Seperate from i2, thermal devices are rapidly dropping in price, and the quality is about where it needs to be for true identification at range. In the low-end, cheaper thermal sensors paired with visible spectrum cameras and image processing could be a game changer in the detection arena.
There are even other, conceptually strange means of detection, some of which don't even really count as optical sensors, weird science stuff.