Near-IR trigonometric parallaxes of nearby stars in the Galactic plane
  using the VVV
  We use the multi-epoch K$\rm _S$ band observations, covering a $\sim$5 years
baseline to obtain milli and sub-milli arcsec precision astrometry for a sample
of eighteen previously known high proper motion sources, including precise
parallaxes for these sources for the first time. In this study we show the
capability of the VVV project to measure high precision trigonometric
parallaxes for very low mass stars (VLMS) up to distances of $\sim$250\,pc
reaching farther than most other ground based surveys or space missions for
these types of stars. Additionally, we used spectral energy distribution to
search for evidence of unresolved binary systems and cool sub-dwarfs. We
detected five systems that are most likely VLMS belonging to the Galactic halo
based on their tangential velocities, and four objects within 60 pc that are
likely members of the thick disk. A more comprehensive study of high proper
motion sources and parallaxes of VLMS and brown dwarfs with the VVV is ongoing
, including thousands of newly discovered objects.
