Different materials will give off heat or cold energy at different rates. Thermal Imaging Camera Applications and Uses It’s this energy that can be detected by infrared equipment and displayed as images.
Originally developed for military use during the Korean War, thermal imaging cameras have migrated into other fields and have found many uses. Firefighters use them to see through smoke, find people and localize hotspots of fires. Law enforcement uses the technology to manage surveillance activities, locate and apprehend suspects, investigate crime scenes and conduct search and rescue operations. Power line maintenance technicians locate overheating joints and parts to eliminate potential failures. Where thermal insulation becomes faulty, building construction technicians can see heat leaks to improve the efficiencies of cooling or heating. Physiological activities, such as fever, in human beings and other warm-blooded animals can also be monitored with thermographic imaging. They are also common tools used by home inspectors. Thermal imaging cameras can be purchased with the bare minimum of features that only read the temperature of the fixed center crosshairs on the display or with multiple features that allow the user to select multiple moveable crosshairs and draw comparisons between them to show the high, low and average temperatures on the display. Thermal imaging cameras have user-selectable multiple color palettes, such as black/white, iron or rainbow. The iron palette is most commonly used by home inspectors. The black/white palette helps identify details on an image, and the rainbow palette has the best thermal sensitivity for displaying the differences in temperature. What to Look for in a Thermal Imaging Camera See sample images below of some color palettes. There are a number of components that contribute to both the quality and the cost of a thermal imaging camera. The two most important factors are the detector resolution and the thermal sensitivity. The detector resolution describes the number of pixels. The most common resolutions are 160 x 120, 320 x 240 and 640 x 480 pixels. A 320 x 240 detector produces an image composed of 76,800 pixels. Since each pixel has a temperature associated with it that is 76,800 temperature data points. Higher resolutions also produce visibly clearer images. Thermal sensitivity is the smallest temperature difference the camera can detect. A sensitivity of 0.05° means the camera can distinguish between two surfaces with only a five-hundredths of a degree temperature difference.Īnother important factor to consider is the thermal imaging camera’s temperature range. The range tells what the minimum and maximum temperatures are that the camera can measure (-4☏ to 2200☏ is typical). To obtain the best thermal image to analyze, there are four adjustments that can be made to most cameras: focus, emissivity setting changes, reflective temperature setting changes and thermal tuning. Each of these adjustments must be considered when selecting a thermal imaging camera. Just like a standard camera, the lens of the thermal imaging camera needs to be focused to enhance the clarity of the image. Most cameras can be focused by twisting the lens. More sophisticated cameras have a push-button focus.Įmissivity is the amount of radiation emitted from an object compared to that of a perfect emitter of radiation when both are at the same temperature. Adjusting the emissivity is important when taking temperature measurements or when comparing the temperatures of two different objects.
Not all cameras allow the user to input reflective temperature.
GAC/L1B/LAC/HRPT data services from NOAA-19 will remain at existing levels. Note: On SNPP becomes the NOAA Prime Polar Orbiter PM s/c and NOAA-19 becomes the Prime NOAA Services Mission PM s/c. Operational Status: PM Prime Services Mission AVHRR imagery at scan edges will show geolocation errors but usable. Note: All NOAA-18 MIMU laser gyros have failed operating RGYRO GYE mode since Aug(17/229). High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder Note: On (18/258) at 0353 UTC, the NOAA-15 AVHRR 3A/3B switching was activated to support snow and ice detection over the Alaska region and will remain in that mode until (19/134).Īttitude Determination and Control SystemĪutomatic Picture Transmission / Low Rate Picture Transmission