Thermal Imaging Set to Go Mass Market

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
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Seattle, WA
Movies hype thermal imaging where you are able to see the infra red energy that objects radiate. But even that hype is no match for having these devices in hand. Point them around your walls and you can see the studs and where insulations are missing! It is the closest thing to X-ray vision.

Alas, these devices have been extremely expensive. FLIR has been the leader in this market and my FLIR high resolution imager retailed for over $20,000! FLIR recently came up with a back cover for iPhone that turns it into a thermal imager. It composites the native camera and IR images so that you know what you are looking at. It is a pretty bulky solution though: http://flir.com/flirone/



Flir One has been late to market and price is nearly $350. While quite a bit more reasonable than industrial solutions, it is out of the reach of average consumers. And it has really poor resolution at just 4,800 pixels.

A start-up called Seek Thermal hopes to change that equation, rumored to be able to bring the retail price down to $200 to $250. They just released some neat images to show the capabilities of thermal imaging:









As you can see, the technology is remarkable. If someone integrates one into a tablet it will be killer.

Once a broad consumer market is created, I suspect the prices will keep going down. There are low cost sensors but resolution is poor. The Seek Termal is 32,000 pixels total which is what you need to resolve smaller detail. And it is much smaller, plugging into the bottom of the smartphone.
 

jkeny

Industry Expert, Member Sponsor
Feb 9, 2012
3,374
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Ireland
Yes the technology is readily available now, it seems so be careful when using a keypad that is used for inputting a pin number or security code - the heat trail on the keys will be visible - so then just a matter of guessing the correct order of inputting. Best to wipe your hand over the keypad when leaving it.
 

Peter Breuninger

[Industry Expert] Member Sponsor
Jul 20, 2010
1,231
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Yes the technology is readily available now, it seems so be careful when using a keypad that is used for inputting a pin number or security code - the heat trail on the keys will be visible - so then just a matter of guessing the correct order of inputting. Best to wipe your hand over the keypad when leaving it.

Thanks for a new thing for me to obsess over! Yikes!
 

jkeny

Industry Expert, Member Sponsor
Feb 9, 2012
3,374
42
383
Ireland
Thanks for a new thing for me to obsess over! Yikes!
Hey, I know what you mean - the world is getting a lot more complicated due to technology.
I watched a programme recently about the "Dark Net" - the use of TOR & Bitcoin (both of which I agree with) for anonymity which now means that hard drug market is now being run over the web.
 

treitz3

Super Moderator
Staff member
Dec 25, 2011
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The tube lair in beautiful Rock Hill, SC
Hello, Amir. I have been eying these for a stint and it seems you can get a good one for around 2K. I flat out love what they can do and if you have an older house, these would pay for itself quickly. You can actually spot a small plumbing leak above your ceiling before any damage is done. Find out where on or around the window the cold air is leaking from. See what outlets or vents are a great source of heating and cooling loss. Spot a vent that leaks so bad that it puts more cold air in between the floors than the floor intended to cool in the first place. Stand back and take a look at your house from afar and see the greatest culprits of energy loss. Spot an electrical issue that poses a fire risk at ease. The list goes on and on. It literally is quite like X-ray vision.

Many home inspectors are starting to use them on both new and older houses. To me, they should become a standard part of professional general home inspections.

Tom
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
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Seattle, WA
Indeed. I think it is invaluable for home inspections. I can't tell you how disappointed I was when I pointed the camera in winter at our walls and saw that there was absolutely no insulation above a lot of our windows!

Just a few days ago I was in our furnace room looking at something else and I feel this draft. I put my hand next to the ductwork that connects the blower to furnace/AC and it had a 2 foot gap where the air was escaping like there was no tomorrow. Put a strip of aluminum tape on it and not only did it stop the leak but also made the unit quieter. It was leaking that much! And this is on top of many other leaks I had found.

Such analysis will also increase customer satisfaction with the survey.

BTW, in our line of business we use them to assess heat build up in equipment racks and circuit breakers. You get image like this:

 

treitz3

Super Moderator
Staff member
Dec 25, 2011
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The tube lair in beautiful Rock Hill, SC
^^^ That situation pictured above doesn't look too safe at all. In fact, it looks like a fire waiting to happen ^^^ :eek:

Tom
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
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Seattle, WA
It can actually be quite safe. A bit of background. IR cameras are black and white. The colors that are often seen like above are "false" colors. You can choose instead of white to black shades, see them in blue to red shades which is what is shown there. The ranges are either set manually or automatically. In that regard, the "red" may indicate 100 degrees or 500 degrees.

Romex (standard wiring in residential homes in US) has to have a minimum rating of 194 degrees F (90 degrees C). The wire will actually heat up when it is being used. So the "red" colors above could very well be normal depending on the color pallet range selected in the IR meter. Ditto for the breaker. In that case, one can easily identify circuits by turning on loads of interest and keeping everything else off.

Of course the rise may very well be above spec. Using IR camera one can determine this without tearing up the wall and attempting the potentially dangerous situation of trying to measure the temp using a physical probe.
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
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0
Seattle, WA

zztop7

Member Sponsor
Dec 12, 2012
750
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Edmonds, WA
You get image like this:

[/QUOTE]

Please correct me if I am wrong, but did not Mae West say: "Is that a hot breaker in your panel, or are you just happy to see me"
zz.
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
FYI I have one of these now and it works! It is not perfect. But for $200 in a very tiny package it is remarkable. Alas, it plugs into the USB jack of my HTC phone. That jack for whatever reason is backwards. So the infrared camera points at me rather than the other way around! Have to upgrade my phone to be able to use it.
 

c1ferrari

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 15, 2010
2,162
51
1,770
You get image like this:


This is what is seen when you enter airport security - hehe :rolleyes:
Actually, I want to access this technology and looked at some Fluke instruments.
How are the Flukes, Amir :confused:
 

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