Thermal Imaging is Going Mainstream

Thermal imaging was once a technology reserved only for military or search and rescue operations.

Historically, the only video surveillance application where thermal imaging has been a hot technology was for oil and gas protection as well as super-critical infrastructure.

In recent years integrating thermal imaging into video surveillance systems has become increasingly affordable. No more expensive than conventional cameras, thermal cameras deliver lots of extra value.

Why thermal works

Thermal cameras have the advantage of being very difficult to hide from.

The Discovery Channel’s MythBusters gang has attempted to fool thermal sensors in their ‘Crime and Myth demeanors’ segments. Wear all black, a suit of mud, a wetsuit made of neoprene, or even dress like a giant chicken; you can’t cheat a thermal camera.

The only way is to carry a big piece of glass and treat it as a shield – yet it will still be seen as something dark and strange and still trigger an alarm.

How to deploy?

So what is the best way to deploy thermal cameras?

If relying on the analytic capabilities of the technology, remember that nothing is ever 100% accurate. Use a high quality thermal camera that provides a usable image with the best possible image quality.

Good contrast and a high quality picture are important. Detecting people becomes more difficult in a scene that heats up in day time and cools down at night.

Remember that the best complement to a thermal camera is always a good low light camera. A major benefit to using network thermal cameras, they can easily be integrated into the larger video surveillance system.

The other benefits of IP-based thermal cameras mirror the benefits of IP cameras generally: intelligent analytics, scalability, edge storage and power over ethernet, which simplifies installation, to name a few.

Back to integration, one of the most important aspects when designing a surveillance system. Seldom will more than 10% of the system be comprised of thermal cameras.

What really matters in these installations is that the thermal cameras provide the alerts you need and the visible cameras can easily be reached. Here it becomes clear that a common interface and common abilities around the whole system play an important role.

And, if using thermal cameras in conjunction with analytics, it’s a good idea to have these intelligent capabilities reside on board the camera itself as it scales much better than being server-based.

The future of thermal

Initially I predicted that we would see one thermal camera per every 50 visible cameras sold for professional surveillance usage. Today, we’re at more than 200 cameras per every thermal.

But we have seen specific deployments of 1:10 for professional applications in many verticals, such as protecting commercial buildings and, of course, in critical infrastructure, where it is already commonplace.

Thermal imaging may be the hottest technology to consider when upgrading your network video surveillance systems.