Thermal photography
thermal-photography

Thermal infrared cameras are designed to take photos or videos of heat (not to be confused with [near infrared cameras](/wiki/multispectral-imaging)). Some of these are tuned specifically for gases, and can be used to image #methane. ## Applications Thermal imaging can be used to document heat/AC leaks from insulation gaps on a building's facade, reveal warmer ground water inflows (either fresh or chemical-laden) or "thermal pollution" from industrial processes entering ocean-temperature waterbodies, as well as identify areas on the human body experiencing infection or stress (includes epidemiological applications). Specific models of FLIR brand cameras, known as the FLIR GasFinder (http://www.flir.com/ogi/display/?id=55671). See [GasFinder](#gas+finder) below for more. Community applications so far include both a "heat-busters" program in East Harlem and a "forensic" water quality monitoring program in the [Gowanus Canal](/place/new-york-city). ## Questions [questions:thermal-photography] *** ## DIY Approaches There are three Do-It-Yourself prototypes in development to try to do this more cheaply than the off-the-shelf options. These projects were started a few years ago and may not be active: * A **[Thermal Flashlight](/wiki/thermal-flashlight)**: a RGB LED flashlight with a non-contact infrared sensor that "paints" the temperature of the surface directly on the wall for capture with a second timelapse camera. * A [Thermal Fishing Bob](/wiki/thermal-fishing-bob): dragging a thermometer through the water, taking contact measurements mapped to a RGB light, also for capture with a second timelapse camera. * A [scanning thermal camera](/wiki/scanning-thermal-camera) on a LEGO turntable (software also in development) that sweeps back and forth across a scene, recording the temperature variation to build up an image. ## Problem Why make a DIY version? "FLIR" cameras can produce images such as the one below, and are typically used to identify heat leaks, but even low-resolution FLIR cameras can cost thousands of dollars. The goal of these DIY thermal camera projects is to make this kind of investigation (and the potential savings) cheap, easy, fun, and informative for those of us without $10k in our pockets. **** ## Activities [activities:thermal-photography] ...


Author Comment Last activity Moderation
jeremykwan18 "very nice information and good research. join me at rtppragmaticplay.top " | Read more » almost 2 years ago
John_Wells "International Register of Applied Kite Aerial Photographers: http://armadale.org.uk/groupmembers.htm Imaging must have a scientific/environmental/a..." | Read more » over 4 years ago
John_Wells "UPDATE Here is a link to my more recent efforts: http://www.armadale.org.uk/aerialthermography.htm I have a related Facebook page: https://www.f..." | Read more » over 4 years ago
warren " Quick update based on https://gist.github.com/jywarren/1ad7dd997b6319ccb2525958709125ab Using this library! https://learn.adafruit.com/using-mel..." | Read more » over 5 years ago
tommaso_miori "Hi, I am not quite sure about the working principle by which the presence of water is detected. I believe that is due to water absorption @ a speci..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
samrider "@sekjal. I was amazed by the use of Lego. I wanted to ask you if it was possible to make a wall riding car similar to one shown by @Mathew or this ..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
jsyedali8 "How to draw a circuit diagram like this..? Which Software can be used to draw, Suggestions Please.. " | Read more » over 6 years ago
jsyedali8 "How to draw a circuit diagram like this..? Which Software can be used to draw, Suggestions Please.. " | Read more » over 6 years ago
jsyedali8 "How to draw a circuit diagram like this..? Which Software can be used to draw, Suggestions Please.. " | Read more » over 6 years ago
stevie "For the infrared cameras, it looks like some of the cameras detects some of the chemicals listed below with this note: "Gases Detected and Minimum..." | Read more » about 7 years ago
warren "Via Annie on the main publiclaboratory list In case you have not heard back, check EarthWorks website for application for community group to reque..." | Read more » about 7 years ago
pikit688 "How to connect camera ? " | Read more » about 7 years ago
Rmeyer "Thank you so much, Chris! Indeed, lots to think about. Will let you know what sort of first steps we come up with, and where it goes from there. " | Read more » over 7 years ago
cfastie "This is a really intriguing project. The Seek camera makes possible a lot of otherwise very difficult investigations. It should be straightforward ..." | Read more » over 7 years ago
loganw "@stevie: The sensor is probably too noisy to actually work for methane. There's some further stuff that seems worth trying w/r/t noise reduction th..." | Read more » almost 8 years ago
stevie "Hi! was hearing from a number of groups in CO this week about interest in low cost methane sensing. Any updates here? " | Read more » almost 8 years ago
jfd "Hi, great discussion. Probably the best thing here would be for us to build our own custom board including a high speed interface for capturing str..." | Read more » almost 8 years ago
mathew "I'm also interested if the same lenses and filters could be applied to a Lepton sensor-- It's primary sensitivity is in the far infrared. It appea..." | Read more » about 8 years ago
mathew "I discovered the OpenMV project has a thermopile board. I can't find a lot of documentation on it, but I found this: https://openmv.io/docs/librar..." | Read more » about 8 years ago
vwls "Hi @SCG! I realize this post is two years old, but would you be willing to share links to hardware and software documentation? I'm looking at a f..." | Read more » about 8 years ago
loganw "Here's an update, I've received a sensor (uncalibrated, which turns out to be an issue) and read data off of it: http://exclav.es/2016/10/26/talkin..." | Read more » about 8 years ago
John_Wells "You might find that you have to go through all your phones to find one which works. Try downloading the Flir One app. It may tell you if the phone ..." | Read more » about 8 years ago
eustatic "I agree, and you've given me an idea to have plots-gulfcoast list to pitch in $30 each to fund one " | Read more » about 8 years ago
mathew "we don't have to frame the capabilities as a large leaks vs. small leaks question, I think it will be more about lighting conditions. The commerc..." | Read more » about 8 years ago