Conducting 24/7 surveillance in conventional indoor and outdoor environments with the proper amount of lighting needed is difficult, unless infrared cameras are being used. However, the average infrared camera has visible LED light beams and limited transmittance, which still does not guarantee complete night vision surveillance.
Conducting 24/7 surveillance in conventional indoor and outdoor environments with the proper amount of lighting needed is difficult, unless infrared cameras are being used. However, the average infrared camera has visible LED light beams and limited transmittance, which still does not guarantee complete night vision surveillance.
Thermal cameras are passive devices that detect heat radiation and can thus ensure 24/7 complete surveillance when complemented with day-and-night cameras. Regular lowlight and day-and-night cameras cannot handle difficult weather conditions due to shorter wavelengths of visible light, water droplets, and small dust particles in the air, which will naturally hinder transmittance and hamper a camera's night vision performance. LWIR thermal cameras work in 8-14μm wavelengths of thermal radiation with a stronger capability to perform well under difficult climatic circumstances such as haze, dust, rain, snow, and smoke.
The development of wide dynamic range (WDR) technology is also important for thermal cameras. Incorporating WDR technology into thermal imagers can deliver crisper thermal images through vehicle exhaust at night, fire sources, surfaces of thermal conductors, and sunrise and sunset. In this way, WDR helps improve the resolution quality for detection and identification of intruders at night.
Getting what you paid for is a good way to think of thermal technology. Despite higher costs, the long-term benefits of thermal cameras in various applications outweigh the initial fear of their price tags. With the ability to provide 24/7 images through unfriendly weather and lack-of-light conditions, thermal cameras can greatly improve and benefit not only the security and surveillance industry, but other industries as well — hopefully the lowering of prices will encourage higher adoption.