Photo-Sonics, Inc

05/06/2025

The ARTIS Close-In optical tracking system is set up at WSMR in preparation for the Site Acceptance Test.

04/29/2025

Photo-Sonics has shipped the first two ARTIS Close-In Optical Tracking Systems to White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. They will go through several months of testing and evaluation before production begins. These systems will be used to collect Time-Space-Position-Information of airborne weapons systems. The Close-In gimbal is designed to be placed near the launch or impact point of the weapon. The gimbal is installed on a thirty foot telescoping tower to reduce the effects of heat shimmer and scintillation on the images and to avoid the dust and smoke caused by the event.

03/03/2025

Photo of the mock-up of the Photo-Sonics Cine-Sextant taken in Burbank in 1959. Production deliveries began in 1963 and 100 units were sold by 1981. The gentleman in the mock-up is Robert "Bob" Holder who worked for Photo-Sonics from age 17 until he was in his mid 80's.

10/31/2024

Today we fired up the first fully operational Close-In Optical Tracking Mount in our parking lot.

06/06/2023

Falcon 9 Recovery at Vandenberg AFB...

Stabilized tracking video of the Ax-2 booster performing the first-ever Return to Launch Site (RTLS) landing after a Crew Dragon launch. For those who have… | 202 comments on LinkedIn

09/30/2022

Picture of a fully loaded Cine-Sextant from the 1960's. Photo-Sonics has always been on the leading edge of technology...note the SONY reel to reel video recorder in the lower left corner.

09/27/2021

After two and a half years of engineering, fabrication and assembly, Photo-Sonics delivered the first two ARTIS/MITS Fly-Out Optical Tracking Systems to White Sand Missile Range today. They will be undergoing three months of test and evaluation before production begins. These new systems are the most technologically advanced systems we have ever produced. The advanced features include Automatic Self-Surveying, Automatic Stellar and Target Board Calibration , Metric Zoom Lenses, Metadata Recording, Digital Multi-Gate Auto-Tracker, and a Multi-Station Processing and Control System that generates real-time TSPI data and also provides a 2D and 3D visualization tool set to display the tracks in real-time.

08/27/2020

It is with great sadness we announce the passing of our friend and colleague, Chris Tenney.

Chris Allen Tenney, age 53 of Onsted Michigan passed away Monday, August 24, 2020. Chris was born in Warren, Ohio on February 13, 1967. During his high school days, he achieved Eagle Scout through the Boys Scouts of America. He graduated from Geneva High School in 1985 and moved to Columbus Ohio to attend Ohio State University. He graduated with a photography degree in 1990. His career with Specialised Imaging allowed him to travel the world with colleagues he admired. On most Saturdays, he could be found at the latest auction searching for treasures among the junk. He had the ability to make friends wherever he went and would help anyone in need. We will miss his unique sense of humor, quick wit, and his constant teasing. He always found a unique song for us to listen to. If you were to know him, you were to love him. Chris is survived by his wife of 25 years, Judith (Mead) Tenney, son, Quinten Tenney; daughter Madeline Tenney. Parents, Christy & Carolyn (Hall) Tenney, sisters Cheri (Jerry) Caster, and Carla (Daniel) Noyes. Brother-in-law, Matthew (Kim) Mead and Sister-in-law, Carol (Eric) Sterbenz. Nieces, Meghan Mead, Kailyn Caster, Eleanor, and Edith Noyes; Nephew, Alex Mead, and Colin Caster. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Paul & Della Tenney and his maternal grandparents, Neil & Eleanor Hall. His biggest love was his family and he will forever be missed.
Visitation for Chris Tenney will be Friday, August 28, 2020, from 5-8pm at Brown-Van Hemert, 122 N. Steer Street, Addison, MI 49220.

06/18/2020

In 1963 the U.S. Navy at Point Mugu published a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the development of an optical tracking mount. Both Photo-Sonics, Inc. and American Machine Foundry (A.M.F.) submitted proposals and AMF was awarded the contract. The owners of Photo-Sonics made a decision to internally fund the development of the Cine-Sextant. When both of the Photo-Sonics and the A.M.F. gimbals were completed, the U.S. Navy elected to have a “fly-off” using Navy personnel as trackers. The Navy gave us our choice of personnel and we selected a short Navy seaman who had a high level of enthusiasm for photography. His name was Jim Gallagher who would later become the Head of the Photo-Optical Branch at Point Mugu and the supervisor of the Cast Glance crew. After several weeks of testing and evaluation, Photo-Sonics won the fly-off and eventually manufactured and delivered 100 Cine-Sextants to foreign and domestic optical ranges around the world.

12/25/2019

The movie "Climb Dance" filmed in 1988 used a Photo-Sonics 16mm-1VN mounted on the outside of the car. The award-winning short film shows Ari Vatanen's climb of Pikes Peak.

The award-winning Climb Dance film, created by Jean Louis Mourey, captures Ari Vatanen's 1988 record-breaking run at the 1988 Pikes Peak Hill Climb Event, Co...