Yet another cheap thermal imager incoming.. Seek Thermal

[mikeselectricstuff]

http://www.cbs46.com/story/26314662/seek-thermal-announces-it-will-bring-next-generation-thermal-imaging-to-mass-market

Apparently aiming for a $250 smartphone add-on according to this
http://online.wsj.com/articles/smartphone-add-ons-offer-thermal-imaging-1408396425

I suspect Flir may pay for late delivery of Flir One...

[mikeselectricstuff]

Another article :
http://www.pacbiztimes.com/2014/08/18/infrared-firms-face-off-in-smartphone-market/

[Fraser]

Yay ! Higher resolution than the FLIR One 

Raytheon are a potent force in thermal imaging cores. This looks like a very interesting development.

Aurora

[ixfd64]

2014: the year of thermal imaging?

[mikeselectricstuff]

2014: the year of thermal imaging?

Clearly - Flir is probably the only contender for this year's Christmas gadget market, but by next year it could be a bloodbath at the low end though.
Up til now it looked like Flir and Maybe Heimann, but if a 32K pixel array comes in at a similar cost they could both be toast.
Seek Thermal must have been rubbing their hands with joy at the Flir One delay - I;m sure this announcement was strtegic to coincide with the Flir One release - will be interesting to see where they're at in the development cycle.
Interesting times.....
 

[ixfd64]

The good news is that if Seek Thermal does come out with its product as promised, other companies like FLIR, Fluke and Testo would have to drastically drop their prices to stay in the market.

[Fraser]

I am interested in these developments because for many years the use of thermal camera technology has been hampered by cost and size issues. If a thermal camera core can be provided at a decent price and reasonably small you could see it used in affordable CCTV applications has automotive applications. Audi, BMW and others have already seen advantages in thermal camera based animal/human warning systems.

I personally would be happy to buy low resolution, low frame rate cameras with so-so sensitivity as that would still be useful in many applications.

Let us hope that this is indeed the start of a new era in affordable compact thermal camera cores 

Aurora

[mikeselectricstuff]

The other interesting aspect is at what point will the US manufacturers manage to persuade their leaders that restrictions on higher framerates are harming business more than they are protecting anyone from anything.
Applications like firefighting need a decent framerate, and once the kit becomes sufficiently small and cheap it will be impractical to control.

 

[Fraser]

Another interesting low resolution thermal camera project that may be of interest to some. It uses the same resolution that IRISYS have used in the past to pretty good effect in thermal application. At a projected $99 its certainly affordable if you already own an Ipad.

http://hackaday.com/2014/07/24/a-better-cheaper-smartphone-thermal-imager/

[Fraser]

Hey FLIR have been giving thermal cameras away at press conferences !

Take a look here:

http://www.sourcesecurity.com/news/articles/co-9756-ga-co-5188-ga-sb.14647.html

A small Lepton based demo camera !

[mikeselectricstuff]

Hey FLIR have been giving thermal cameras away at press conferences !

Take a look here:

http://www.sourcesecurity.com/news/articles/co-9756-ga-co-5188-ga-sb.14647.html

A small Lepton based demo camera !

Very cute - maybe start emailing a few journos to make an offer...!
Shouldn't be hard to build something like this once you get your hands on a Lepton...  

[mikeselectricstuff]

My prediction for the hot toy of Xmas 2015   

[Dongulus]

Clearly - Flir is probably the only contender for this year's Christmas gadget market, but by next year it could be a bloodbath at the low end though.

Flir and the IR sensors group at Raytheon share the same business park. Could turn into an actual blood-bath. 

[frenky]

Seek Thermal has put out some new info...
Interview with CEO: http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/3751903491001/low-price-thermal-imagery-camera-for-smartphones/#sp=show-clips

New photos:

[mikeselectricstuff]

Suspicious lack of any pics of real product though - they're claiming to be launching in Autumn, so why no product images ?
 

[David Hess]

I wonder if ubiquitous inexpensive public access to thermal cameras will undo the US Supreme Court decision that law enforcement use qualifies as a search requiring a warrant.

Since the police did not have a warrant when they used the device, which was not commonly available to the public, the search was presumptively unreasonable and therefore unconstitutional.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyllo_v._United_States

[StevenH]

Some information are going to be published:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4wP-sO4OR-oJ:addmart.weebly.com/store/p1/Seek_Thermal.html+&cd=1&hl=fr&ct=clnk&gl=fr
SEEK THERMAL store is not opened but can be found in Google cache page
What is mentionned :
Seek Thermal. SKU: $249.00. $249.00. $. Unavailable. Thermal imaging camera for use with iPhone 5+ and Samsung Galaxy 5
3D rendering of the case is in attached.
To be followed...

[StevenH]

product launch planned for today. I just have received this message from SEEK THERMAL team :

"
It is almost time to SEE THE UNSEEN!  You are now among the first in the world to know that we will be officially launching at 9AM ET on 9/25/14.

That means you also have a chance to be among the first to get your very own Seek Thermal product.  Go to thermal.com on 9/25 to check out our all-new website, and find out how Seek Thermal can give you the power to SEE THE UNSEEN!

Thanks!
Seek Thermal Team

"

[frenky]

They've put new video on YT:

[mikeselectricstuff]

They've put new video on YT:

resolution & framerate on that looks somewhat higher than what the product is likely to have - I bet they used a high-end Flir for that video
 

[frenky]

I guess we will see later today on their site what actual images look like.
Promised 32K sensor should have around 200px*160px which is quite better than flir one...

[mikeselectricstuff]

Info is up now but US/Canada only ordering - if anyone is interested in helping me get hold of one, please PM me.

206 x 156 Array
32,136 Thermal Pixels
12 µ Pixel Pitch
Vanadium Oxide Micro Bolometer
Chalcogenide Lens
36º Field of View
Magnesium Housing
Long Wave Infrared 7.2 – 13 Microns
-40C to 330C Detection
< 9Hz

oh, and $199

[frenky]

Really disappointing that they don't ship to Europe.
(I tried to order trough shipito.com but order on thermal.com didn't go trough because my credit card address was different from shipping address...)

[imau]

They've put new video on YT:

resolution & framerate on that looks somewhat higher than what the product is likely to have - I bet they used a high-end Flir for that video

Yep, the video seems 30fps while they state sensor refresh rate is <9hz.

I don't like this kind of marketing.

[frenky]

Real image from this module:

http://recode.net/2014/09/25/seek-thermal-camera/

AndroidPolice has some videos:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/09/25/hands-on-with-the-199-seek-thermal-smartphone-infrared-camera-yes-really-actually-this-is-amazing/