Open Thermal Camera - Application ideas - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Otc
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 09:15:21 am
content: Hello everyone!We are students from Slovenia and we created OpenThermalCamera based on inexpensiveMLX90640(32x24 resolution, ~40€). We designed our own Hardware(KiCad), Firmware(Atollic TrueSTUDIO, used STM32F0 for communication) and Software (Android studio) for Android smartphone. Everything isopensource(files can be found onGithub). If anyone is interested, we have aHackadayproject entry where we post logs (likes/follows are appreciated).To the point:Since we started project before thinking about appropriate use cases, we are interested in your application ideas, what could it be used for (with it's limited resolution)? We though aboutPCB heat inspection,home insulation inspection(if you are close enough, otherwise resolution is a problem),water leakage detection(we have yet to test it),wildlife observationSome pictures taken with Android application:RPI 3B+, used in-app bilinear filter, edited image for fusion(picture+thermal image)Soldering ironFaulty PCB where one component (voltage regulator) is heating up more than others

author: frenky
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 09:26:13 am
content: You could look into using phone sensors(accelerometer, gyroscope) to implement super-resolution.That could double the thermal resolution...

author: Vipitis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 11:09:44 am
content: I would hardly call it a camera. Even 80*60 resolution isn't a camera by far means. My challenge would be to make a megapixel image. Use all your available tools. Multiframe superresolution via phone sensors. Panoramic stiching or photogrammetry to capture a bigger scene(need to lower fov considerable to get a useful iFoV). Maybe you can connect multiple cameras to a single hosts and combine data in real time. Not as the Nokia 9 but like it.Ultralow resolution sensors are used to count people or detect fires.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 12:31:30 pm
content: Vipitis,I find your comment a little harsh. Maybe it was not meant to be so ?The OP has produced a “Camera”. A low resolution camera, but a camera none the less. This unit is akin to the Fluke visual thermometer VT02 and VT04 and I am impressed with what they have achieved at relatively low cost.It is true that some clever interpolation techniques, as used by IRISYS, could further improve the imaging but I respect what has already been achievedI have never been, nor will I ever be a ‘resolution nut’ when it comes to thermal imaging. All resolutions have their uses and whilst the low resolution images are not ‘pretty’ they can serve a purpose and provide an educational entry into thermography principles.I have seen a sub $100 thermal camera on eBay that is a complete system with LCD display. I believe that used the same sensor array. I will check.As an ex Instructor, I will always give praise where it is due, and this is such a case. I like to see people ‘create’ and use their minds. The first prototypes of a creation may be crude but the knowledge gained during the creation process can be invaluable. Helpful feedback from the community is also invaluable as has already been provided here. Such a low resolution camera might form the basis of resolution enhancement projects. The original scanning thermal cameras had only one pixel, later designs used low resolution vertical linear arrays and one axis of scanning instead of two. Piezo electric driven sensor FPA displacement or lens shifting has also been proposed.Where interpolation is concerned, the use of clever algorithms can extract a lot of data from relatively low resolution arrays. IRISYS were masters of such an approach with their 16 x 16, 32 x 32 and 47 x 47 pixel arrays.Fraser

author: Uho
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 02:00:27 pm
content: I started to get acquainted with thermal imagers with a resolution of 16x4. With them, too, was the benefit. Do not always need a large resolution matrix. Well done guys.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 02:44:17 pm
content: To the OP, it might be worth looking at reviews and documentation on the IRISYS 1011 thermal camera. It uses a 16 x 16 pixel FPA that is interpolated up to 96 x 96 pixels. The brochures provide suggestions for where the camera may prove useful.http://slussen.blob.core.windows.net/newspdf/I_18314_NewsPdf_4986.pdfThe history of this particular thermal camera may be of interest as well.IRISYS produce their own thermal imaging FPA’s without the complications of importing from the USA. They use them in people Counters that not only count customers in retail environments, but also track their movement to gather important information on browsing habits. If you look up IRISYS people Counters you will find more on the topic. One student even wrote software that could determine whether a person walking under the people counter was male or female from their walking gate. It was also possible to identify adults, children and dogs. All done with a 16 x 16 pixel FPA.An organisation approached IRISYS with a request for help. They wanted a way to check vehicle brake temperatures without direct contact. IRISYS took up the challenge and created a low resolution thermal camera using the parts from their successful people counter design. They had to add a chopper wheel due to the sensor technology and new firmware to communicate with an App running on a PDA or PC. The camera was named the IRI 1001 and it was the cheapest thermal camera available at the time and was successfully used by the organisation that requested its creation. The camera was then further developed and became the IRI 1011. IRISYS also made a static camera format of the 1011 for use in industry to monitor such things as motors, bearings and other components that could suffer overheating. FLIR have created the AX8 80x60 pixel camera for similar applications.I will add details of IRISYS products when I find them. Consider your camera A similar concept that does have applications despite its low resolution.https://www.irisys.net/There is a partner support portal at the bottom of the web page and you can easily create an account. The user manuals for their cameras are all available for downloadFraser

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 02:48:50 pm
content: IRI 1011 user manualhttps://www.manualslib.com/manual/939372/Irisys-Iri-1011.htmlAbout the 1011http://www.thermoview.ru/teploarhiv/irisys1011/

author: Vipitis
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 02:51:33 pm
content: It may be harsch, but that is just a reflection of the comments I experienced which ultimately made me leave low resolution behind. I think any resolution works as a LWIR visualizer. It works for a lot of inspection applications can be done because hotspots are easy to find and to locate them better you just move in closer. What I dislike is the blurring. to be it is an attempt to hide low resolution be degrading the image. It is difficult to focus low resolution images, therefore a focus range should be stated.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 02:58:03 pm
content: The IRI 1002 industrial thermal camera.....http://www.thermoview.ru/teploarhiv/irisys1002s/http://www.thermoview.ru/teploarhiv/irisys1002/Fraser

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 03:14:26 pm
content: A paper on people Counters for flow monitoring.https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/5169/urn100598.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=yPeople Counters have become an important part of retail analysis.The IRISYS thermal people Counters provide multiple target capture and travel plotting with bread crumb trails. The time a customer looks at a display stand or the direction they walk around a display can all be useful to the retailer when planning shop layout and predicted customer flow. They are also used to monitor checkout queues and automatically alert to when they get too long.This may be a pretty humble task for a thermal camera but there is big money involved. The IRISYS people Counters start at around £800 per head and retailers happily buy many of them !A people counter in action.....https://youtu.be/0k7ltgxg3S8Fraser

author: Max Planck
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2019, 05:40:39 pm
content: Otc,IMHO good jobRegarding application ideas, this is the hardest part. You can just copy existing scenarios, for fun or to gain more experience or you can look for some new ones.One thing I am sure of, is that there is room for systems based on the Melexis (or similar) arrays. They can for example measure temperature, giving also information about the exact point of measurement - something that a single detector can not do - whilst remaining cheaper than a Lepton based system.Max

author: Otc
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 16, 2019, 05:40:19 pm
content: What a great community, I did not expect such a positive response!As suggested by frenky, Vipitis and Fraser, we are currently looking into superresolution via multiple frames. Hopefully we will soon implement this into our android application@Fraser thank you for your suggestion on people counter, but our current project (portable thermal camera with usb c/micro usb connector for mobile devices) is not suited for such an application. Maybe that could be our future project@Max Planck indeed, we were just talking about melexis' TOF sensor (320 x 240 resolution) but this time we won't make the same mistake, building something before finding an useful application