Owl Autonomous Imaging Selected for Pentagon-Led DUTCH Award to Advance Uncooled Thermal Imaging
Fabless semiconductor company brings advanced LWIR technology and scalable North American manufacturing to next-generation defense systems
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — September 8, 2026 — Owl Autonomous Imaging, Inc. (Owl AI), a U.S.-based fabless semiconductor company developing advanced long-wave infrared (LWIR) technology, today announced that it has been selected for an award supporting the Delivering Unmatched Thermal Capability–Hastened (DUTCH) initiative, led by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Critical Technologies and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) C5ISR Center.
Under the award, Owl AI will apply its expertise in uncooled LWIR semiconductor and imaging technology to the development and demonstration of next-generation thermal capabilities. As a fabless semiconductor company, Owl develops technology across the thermal imaging chain, from focal plane arrays and digital readout technology through camera cores and complete thermal camera systems.
Owl AI’s KnightOwl HD™️ platform is designed to deliver high-quality uncooled LWIR imaging with the low-power architecture, compact form factor and scalable manufacturing approach required by emerging autonomous and defense systems.
“We are excited to support the DUTCH initiative and the effort to accelerate the next generation of uncooled thermal technology,” said Chuck Gershman, CEO and co-founder of Owl Autonomous Imaging. “We developed KnightOwl HD around the needs of a new generation of systems that require higher-quality thermal imaging, lower power, smaller form factors and a path to much broader deployment. We believe scalable thermal imaging can become an important enabling technology for drones, robotics and critical defense programs like Drone Dominance.”
Owl AI’s fabless model uses semiconductor and MEMS manufacturing partners in the United States and Canada, supporting Department of War priorities for secure, resilient and scalable supply chains for mission-critical technologies.
The DUTCH award expands Owl AI’s work with the U.S. defense community and supports the company’s broader objective of moving advanced LWIR thermal perception from a specialized sensing technology to a highly scalable platform for the next generation of autonomous systems.
About Owl Autonomous Imaging
Owl Autonomous Imaging, Inc. (Owl AI) is a U.S.-based fabless semiconductor company developing advanced long-wave infrared imaging and thermal perception technology for the emerging world of Physical AI.
Owl AI develops technology across the thermal imaging stack, including proprietary focal plane arrays, digital readout technology, compact camera cores and complete thermal camera systems. In addition to thermal imaging, Owl develops proprietary AI algorithms and multimodal fusion capabilities that combine thermal data with other sensing modalities to enable perception capabilities including detection, classification and environmental understanding.
By combining semiconductor innovation, LWIR imaging and AI-enabled thermal perception, Owl AI enables intelligent systems to perceive and operate in darkness, degraded visual environments and other conditions where conventional vision systems are limited. Owl AI develops technology for drones, robotics, defense, automotive autonomy and industrial applications.
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Media Contact
Wade Appelman, Chief Business Officer
Owl Autonomous Imaging
wadea@owlai.us
+1 781-439-7480