Variable Acuity Superpixel Technology

Nova Sensors of Solvang, California has designed the Variable Acuity Superpixel Technology (VAST) system, which is reportedly capable of tracking "anything slower than a bullet," but the shifty part is that this camera can home in on speeding shells as well, hopefully lending a hand in protecting soldiers in the years to come.

The machine focuses on heat bursts emitted in the infrared range by moving bullets in order to detect an incoming projectile; ideally, it would be connected to "active armor" that could move, expand, or otherwise protect an individual or a entire platoon if a stray (or purposeful) bullet was headed their way.

The system includes software that "mimics the fovea in human and animal eyes," and essentially provides high-resolution focal points of the incoming shells while making everything else low-resolution in order to showcase what's really life-threatening.

Source: wired.comAdded: 8 May 2007