Most of these uses involve operating the equipment at night. This was a thermal IR display using TV cameras equipped with sensors that responded to the thermal variations of features, from buildings to weaponry, in the scene. All of these tasks depend on detecting temperature differences in objects that vary in their thermal response. For example, hot spots in a building could indicate inefficient energy distribution including unwanted heat leaks. Tanks and soldiers on the move can be monitored at night.
Felons breaking into a closed bank stand out as warm bodies moving about in a suspicious manner.
An abnormally warm area around the human throat could mean a thyroid disorder. This now widely used technology, called Thermography depends on scanners and cameras with detectors sensitive to emitted thermal radiation. We show examples of two instruments. The second is even more exotic. Here is a set of Night Goggles which can be worn by a person directly over the eyes.