Make Your Own Set of Night-Vision Goggles

So few of us have ever had the opportunity to use night-vision goggles that they almost seem like science fiction technology. But, of course, night-vision goggles — also called night-vision devices (NVDs) — are quite real. The precursor to modern night-vision goggles was invented in 1929, and was intended for anti-aircraft defense in the United Kingdom. They then saw somewhat widespread use in World War II. Today, NVDs are most often utilized by military and police forces, and those professional models can be quite expensive. Fortunately, you can build your own set of night-vision goggles for surprisingly little money.

There are several technological means of seeing in the dark, but these DIY night-vision goggles work using a technique that is common among inexpensive NVD models that are intended for civilian use. An infrared flashlight is used to flood an area with IR light, which isn’t visible to the human eye. IR light can, however, be picked up by digital camera CMOS sensors. Cameras have IR filters over their sensors specifically to avoid that, as it is usually undesirable. By removing the IR filter, the digital camera can see the area illuminated by IR light that is invisible to us. You just need a screen to see it.

In this case, that screen is a small 2” TFT TV from Adafruit. This display has a built-in control board that can receive a composite video signal. That is paired with a composite camera. A specific model isn’t specified, but just about any camera with a composite output should work. Light comes from a cheap IR flashlight. Power is provided by a battery bank like you’d use to charge a smartphone. A boost converter and linear voltage regulator are used to generate the correct voltages. A 3D-printed monocular display mount is used to attach the screen to the bill of a baseball cap. If you’ve been wanting to see better at night, this is an affordable way to do it.