FLIR for the rest of us

[Alan Georges]

Two iPhone snap-on units priced at $200 and $350 described at this article over at Popular Mechanics:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/reviews/infrared-sensors-smartphone-flir-one-seek-thermal-17658065?click=pm_news

I can see a lot of uses for this.  Security, obviously, but as pointed out in the video, hunting down overheating electrical gear, wildlife spotting, etc.  Perhaps finding problem areas in the garden?

[bradleypaul75]

very useful. I am thinking about one.

there seem to be 3:
FLIR 1
Therm App
Seek thermal camera

[Alan Georges]

Link from the above-linked article, tackling the "why do I want an IR imager anyway?" question:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/news/why-you-need-an-infrared-camera-on-your-phone-16932027

[cmxterra]

I have the Seek Thermal unit and for the price it is not bad and a great way to get into nightvision/thermal.

Great for inside the home. Outside finding people sized objects at distance? Meh.

[TexasGirl]

I have the Seek Thermal unit and for the price it is not bad and a great way to get into nightvision/thermal.

Great for inside the home. Outside finding people sized objects at distance? Meh.

These are well suited for finding heat leaks in insulation, hot ballasts or connections, etc.  They have drawbacks in a tactical application, though.  Besides lack of durability, they present a significant light splash on the operators face which pretty much precludes night operations.

~TG

[cmxterra]

I purchased a 3 ft lightning cable so I did not have to have it plugged directly into my iphone.  If the units were watertight I might be tempted to find a way to mount it to the exterior of the vehicle so I could have poor man's FLIR while driving.

[bradleypaul75]

I purchased a 3 ft lightning cable so I did not have to have it plugged directly into my iphone.  If the units were watertight I might be tempted to find a way to mount it to the exterior of the vehicle so I could have poor man's FLIR while driving.

I was thinking about extension cables for that application all day and was going to poise that question tonight.


thanks for the answer.

[cmxterra]

Here are some examples showing the difference between the SEEK thermal and a ATN OTIS thermal unit.

Shot of my NAS, back up power supply, router and other things. SEEK


Footsteps on the carpet


House across the street


Car three houses down and across the street


Things to notice. At the distance of the car you would have a difficult time making out a man sized target. Especially if they were closer to ambient temps.

Now here is what things look like through the ATN. Much larger sensor and you can focus the optics. Granted it is a much more narrow field of view (you can get different lenses)

NAS server and sewing box behind it. Scale next to it.


Same car three houses down and across the street.


Nextdoor neighbors exterior wall (you can see the studs and nails)


Cat prints on carpet (closest) and tile (through the door)


There are uses for both of the devices. This is just to show the difference in image quality between something that costs a couple hundred dollars and something that costs a little bit more.

[JerseyVince]

If you can locate one used, The FLiR Unit Caddy used for the 2000+ DeVille Heads up Display has an NTSC output, runs on 12V  and is weatherproof but only Black+White

[InquiringMind]

I would love to have FLIR capability, but I'm not sure I would want it tied to a particular phone make and model, or rely on a specific cable interface. A standalone device would be more likely to stand the test of time.

That said, the fact that sensor technology has advanced enough to sell a (decent) thermal infrared night-vision system to civilians for <$300 probably means that inexpensive purpose-built devices are coming down the pike.

[Alan Georges]

That said, the fact that sensor technology has advanced enough to sell a (decent) thermal infrared night-vision system to civilians for <$300 probably means that inexpensive purpose-built devices are coming down the pike.

"When will then be now?"
"Soon."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeZ9HhHU86o

[endurance]

Here are some examples showing the difference between the SEEK thermal and a ATN OTIS thermal unit.

Shot of my NAS, back up power supply, router and other things. SEEK


Footsteps on the carpet


House across the street


Car three houses down and across the street


Things to notice. At the distance of the car you would have a difficult time making out a man sized target. Especially if they were closer to ambient temps.

Now here is what things look like through the ATN. Much larger sensor and you can focus the optics. Granted it is a much more narrow field of view (you can get different lenses)

NAS server and sewing box behind it. Scale next to it.


Same car three houses down and across the street.


Nextdoor neighbors exterior wall (you can see the studs and nails)


Cat prints on carpet (closest) and tile (through the door)


There are uses for both of the devices. This is just to show the difference in image quality between something that costs a couple hundred dollars and something that costs a little bit more.

Freakin' awesome post.