Defensphere plans tests for Vegvisir prototype

Estonian-Croatian company Defensphere is developing a new situational awareness system for armoured vehicle crews.

Vegvisir applies cameras, four layers of sensors and image-processing algorithms to deliver a 360° MR/VR picture to vehicle crew members wearing a head-mounted display.

As a result, crew inside a buttoned-down armoured vehicle can still see not only their immediate vicinity but also ‘objects of interest’ in real time out to 10km, Defensphere claimed in a 20 January statement.

The company did not specify which platforms it foresees being equipped with Vegvisir.

Defensphere aims to bring Vegvisir to market in 2023. Company CEO Ingvar Pärnamäe said that the start-up initially raised €550,000 from investors in four European countries.

‘With the support of that investment, we will develop what is currently our technical demo product into a prototype that can be tested in cooperation with end-users. Our aim is to show it at the Eurosatory defence industry show in Paris this summer,’ he added.

Defensphere was established in 2021. It plans to hold a second round of funding in 2022 with the aim of growing its engineering and sales team.