Thermal Infrared Camera
Remember those heart-stopping suspenseful moments in “Silence of the Lambs” where Clarice Starling was being pursued by the serial killer wearing night vision goggles? Night vision goggles use infrared thermal imaging, a cutting-edge technology that is being utilized in many inspection instruments and diagnostic tools. Another example would be when thermal imaging is used to locate survivors in buildings or mines that have collapsed due to an earthquake. The view through thermal imaging is often portrayed as having a forest green background contrasted by the heat-emitting red and yellow shapes of living beings. This quite beneficial market sector has grown by leaps and bounds due to higher cooling and heating costs. It is currently being utilized by a lot of machines and gadgets, and more applications are underway.
The most popular usage of infrared thermal imaging is the thermal infrared camera. It operates like a regular camcorder with a unique feature: the ability to view heat energy. It is used in many sectors: machine vision, firefighting, maritime, predictive maintenance, long-distance, temperature trend measurements, process control, medical applications and surveillance, to name a few. It is popular among aircraft-mounted firefighters, border patrol, and those in the security business. When you are in inspections, mechanical preventive maintenance, reliability engineering, or research and development, you will most likely need an thermal infrared camera.
Thermal infrared cameras come in numerous forms and names: thermal imagers, thermal cameras, infrared camera system, infrared software and infrared temperature measurement tools. A wide variety of these are available in countless physical stores, online stores and websites that make and sell new cameras, or rent second-hand ones. If you are diligent in searching, you can even find a rare specialty infrared camera. Training on the use of the thermal camera and infrared consulting are also offered online.
The features offered for infrared camera systems by resources in the internet are innumerable — precise accuracy, lighting speed, high resolution views, excellent image quality, unmatched clarity, peerless image sensitivity plus radiometric temperature measurement performance. You can get a durable hand-held enclosure and tough but easy to use equipment body, as well as a complex image processing software.
Given the plentiful choices out there, select what suits your needs and your industry. Some features may be fancy but not practical. Other specifications may be technologically advanced but not appropriate. If you just want to play James Bond, you can certainly find the camera gear for that too.
