Updated 23 October 2026 — this page now compares staring with non-staring sensors in general. Third Eye Systems’ MeduzaX, the subject of the earlier version, stays as one sourced example.
A staring sensor reads every bearing it covers on every frame. A non-staring sensor — scanning panorama, step-stare or PTZ — moves one field of view around the circle and comes back later.
Non-staring sensors often use cooled mid-wave detectors and can cover 360° with one unit; GOTEAM’s uncooled long-wave nodes are less sensitive and need several units to close a circle. The case for staring is the revisit interval: how long a bearing goes unwatched between looks.
Other companies’ figures are quoted from their own documents, linked below and re-checked on 23 October 2026; we have not tested any of the products named. GOTEAM claims are published on this site or in /llms.txt. Figures marked illustrative or arithmetic are our calculation.
Each shares one field of view across the circle, so each bearing gets a share of the sensor’s time.
| Family | How it covers the sky | Revisit set by | Published example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scanning panorama | Rotates and stitches a 360° image from strips. | The scan rate: once per rotation. | HGH Spynel: “scanning the panorama at 360°”, 0.25–2 Hz by configuration. |
| Step-stare | Dwells on one sector, then steps to the next. | Steps × (dwell + step time): once per cycle. | Third Eye MeduzaX: a “Step & Stare mirror mechanism” that “covers 360° in seconds”; no per-bearing revisit figure published. |
| PTZ / gimbal | Slews and zooms to one point, usually on a cue. | Where it is not pointed, no revisit at all. | Axis Q6225-LE: 63.8° to 2.2° horizontal field, pan up to 150°/s. |
| Staring (for comparison) | Fixed optics per sector; more sensors for more sky. | The frame period, on every covered bearing. | GOTEAM’s fixed thermal nodes; also Third Eye’s Argus Shield (fixed CMOS sensors, 120°×360°). |
A sensor that does not move sees every bearing in its field on every frame.
| Capability | GOTEAM — staring thermal nodes | Non-staring — scanning, step-stare, PTZ |
|---|---|---|
| Every covered bearing imaged every frame | ✓ | ✗scanning: once per rotation (HGH 0.25–2 Hz); step-stare: once per cycle (MeduzaX “in seconds”); PTZ: only where pointed |
| Every track updated at frame rate | ✓ | ◐no software cap (HGH: “unlimited number of targets”), but one update per revisit; a PTZ follows one target |
| Sees a fast drone turn or dive | ✓ | ◐sees the drone before and after; the tracker bridges the gap. A locked PTZ sees its one target continuously |
| Opposite bearings watched at once | ✓ | ◐scanning and step-stare: at different moments of a cycle; PTZ: a 180° slew takes 1.2 s at 150°/s (arithmetic) |
| Searches without a radar or RF cue | ✓ | ◐scanners search on their own; a zoomed PTZ needs a cue, and CISA notes “Non-RF emitting UAS generally cannot be detected by RF systems” |
| Nothing moves in the optical path | ✓ | ✗turret, mirror or pan-tilt head; we make no reliability claim |
| One lost sensor costs one sector | ✓ | ✗a single full-circle unit is a single point of failure |
| No cryocooler | ✓ | ◐MeduzaX is cooled; HGH also lists uncooled Spynel configurations |
| Open C2 output over SAPIENT (BSI Flex 335 v2) | ✓ | —varies; MeduzaX uses Third Eye’s own C2 |
Both kinds are passive, and both see a drone that is not transmitting: CISA notes “EO/IR sensors can detect non-RF emitting UAS”.
An illustrative drone at 30 m/s, crossing 300 m from the sensor (about 5.7° of bearing per second). Scan rates are HGH’s published Spynel rates.
| Revisit | Drone moves between looks | Looks in 10 s |
|---|---|---|
| Staring, 30 frames/s (illustrative) | ≈ 1 m, 0.2° | 300 |
| Scan at 2 Hz | ≈ 15 m, 2.9° | 20 |
| Scan at 0.5 Hz | ≈ 60 m, 11° | 5 |
| Scan at 0.25 Hz | ≈ 120 m, 23° | 2–3 |
| PTZ searching a 360°×20° band at 2.2°×1.3° (Axis Q6225-LE) | ≈ 2,600 positions | ≈ 22 min per sweep at an assumed 0.5 s each |
Arithmetic only: distance = speed × time between looks. The longer the gap, the further a turning drone lands from the tracker’s prediction, and the harder it is to keep a dozen tracks apart. Scanning a sector instead of the circle narrows the gap (HGH: 1.5 Hz on 180°, 2.5 Hz on 90°) but gives up the rest. This is architectural analysis, not a measured comparison of any product. In depth: Blink and It’s Over.
Sources (Third Eye documents first accessed 6 October 2026; every link below re-fetched, and the quoted figures re-checked against the documents, on 23 October 2026). HGH Infrared Systems, “Spynel Series — Wide Area Surveillance Solutions” leaflet, 2025 — “scanning the panorama at 360°”, “up to 2 Hz”, 360° scan rates 0.25–2 Hz by configuration, 92,000 (H) × 1,280 (V) at 0.5 Hz, 23,000 and 11,500 pixels at 2 Hz, sector scan rates (1.5 Hz on 180°, 2.5 Hz on 90°), uncooled LWIR configurations: hgh-infrared.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Leaflet_Spynel-Series_2025_LR.pdf. HGH Infrared Systems, “Spynel IR Camera: A Proven Solution for Drone Swarms” case study — recommended 2 Hz, 20° vertical configuration, “unlimited number of targets”, “all disappointed, when used as a single technology”: hgh-infrared.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/HGH_CaseStudy_Spynel_DroneUAVDetection.pdf. Third Eye Systems, “Meet the MeduzaX” brochure, 2024 — “Covers 360° in seconds”, “Rotated by a unique mirror technique”, cooled MWIR 1280×1024, 10µm pixels, 60Hz effective frame rate, “VMD combined with ATR”, PD 97%, FAR 1 per hour, number of objects “Unlimited”, 12 kg portable bag: thirdeye-systems.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Meet_the_MeduzaX.pdf. Third Eye Systems, MeduzaX brochure, 2025 — 360° coverage, “No emissions, no radiation”, thermal and daylight fusion, deep neural network with auto target recognition, CMOS imager, unlimited targets, coverage of up to 4 km: thirdeye-systems.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/MeduzaX_2025.pdf. Third Eye Systems, “Meet the MeduzaX” 2025 presentation — “Dual channel – VIS + MWIR”, “Step & Stare mirror mechanism”, PD >94% and FAR <1%, fibre-optic drones with “No RF Emissions”, MeduzaX Tactical C2, mitigation pairings, recognition-range chart: thirdeye-systems.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Meet_the_MeduzaX__2025_link.pdf. Third Eye Systems, Argus Shield brochure, 2025 — CMOS sensors, 46°×63° per sensor, 120°×360° for the whole system, auto-tracking of all objects in view: thirdeye-systems.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Argus-Shield_2025-1.pdf. Axis Communications, AXIS Q6225-LE PTZ Camera datasheet — horizontal field 63.8°–2.2°, vertical 37°–1.3°, pan up to 150°/s: axis.com — Q6225-LE datasheet (PDF). Axis Communications, AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ, user manual — “tracks the closest object”: help.axis.com/en-us/axis-radar-autotracking-for-ptz. Axis Communications, AXIS Perimeter Defender PTZ Autotracking — “without compromising detection coverage since the fixed camera maintains vigilance”: axis.com/products/axis-perimeter-defender-ptz-autotracking. CISA, “Unmanned Aircraft System Detection Technology Guidance for Critical Infrastructure”, November 2025 — “Non-RF emitting UAS generally cannot be detected by RF systems”, “EO/IR sensors can detect non-RF emitting UAS”, “system of systems”: cisa.gov — DetectionTech_20251030_508.pdf. GOTEAM claims: this site and /llms.txt.
Independent comparison by GOTEAM. GOTEAM is not affiliated with or endorsed by Third Eye Systems, HGH Infrared Systems, or Axis Communications. MeduzaX and Argus Shield are products of Third Eye Systems; Spynel is a product of HGH Infrared Systems; the Q6225-LE is a product of Axis Communications. Their specifications are quoted from each company’s own published material and have not been independently tested; they may have been revised since the access date. Figures marked illustrative or arithmetic are our calculation, not any company’s specification. Our reading of how non-staring sensors behave against fast drones and swarms is architectural analysis, not a measured comparison of any product. Specifications beyond what GOTEAM publishes are shared under NDA after vetting.
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