Active imagers are a type of EO imaging systems that generate image of scenery of interest when the scenery is illuminated by an artificial light source (typically internal but rarely external light source). Historically first night vision devices built using Gen 0/Gen 1 imager intensifier tubes used up to 1980s have been active imagers that needed some artificial illumination of targets of interest in order to generate useful image of such targets. Therefore such active night vision devices included illuminator in form of optical system having a tungsten lamp at its focus and emitting light beam into wide projection angle.  Humans operating such old active imagerss could be easily detected. Therefore active NVDs have been gradually replaced by passive passive EO imagers (NVD built using Gen 2/3 tubes, thermal imagers, VIS-NIR cameras, SWIR imagers) in 1980s. Therefore passive EO imagers totally dominate present day international market. However, modern active imagers built by replacing old tungsten illuminators by pulse lasers as illuminators represent an interesting novel direction and their number is growingl

Testing active SWIR imagers is not standardized (testing passive SWIR imagers is actually also not standardized). In such a situation, Inframet has developed its own test methodology of testing active SWIR imagers based on vision of test system capable to simulate real work conditions and capable to measure all important parameters needed for evaluation of active SWIR imagers. In detail, Inframet has developed modular ASIR test system that can be configured to carry out expanded multi level tests of active SWIR imagers.

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