With the advent of Covid-19 pandemic, Thermal Cameras have become one of the most search terms on Google search engine. Recently, to prevent the spread of infectious viral infections like influenza, coronavirus, etc. Globus Infocom, a Make In India brand, has launched a Healthcare and Wellness Division. The range includes robust and efficient products like Thermal Body Temperature Detection Cameras, Contactless IR Thermometer, ULV Fogger, UV Sterlizer Lamp, UV Sterilizer Box, etc. They are aimed to curb the spread of any infectious disease at a premise and devise a strategy to tackle and record suspected infected individuals.

Thermal Camera definition

In this post, we will discuss about Thermal Cameras in detail as well as about its functions, usage and application areas.

What is a Thermal Camera?

Thermal Camera is a Thermographic Camera that is usually used to detect elevated body temperatures, fires, rising temperatures, etc. It uses the IR (Infrared) Radiations as visible light to create images. Each Thermal Camera consists of the following parts; an optic system, detector, amplifier, signal processing and a display. These components work together to create visible light representation of heat given off by objects or individuals.

Infrared radiations are invisible to naked eyes, but they can be felt in the form of heat. All objects emit some kind of IR radiations, some more than others. The hotter the object is, the more Infrared radiation it produces. Thermal Cameras can see these IR Radiations and use them to create an easily decipherable image.

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The Thermal Cameras are fitted with tiny measuring devices called Microbolometers. These devices record temperatures and then assign that pixel to an appropriate colour. Thermal Cameras are low resolution as compared to optical cameras. A resolution of 640x480 is also considered very good in terms of thermal imaging.

Where are Thermal Cameras Used?

Since Thermal Cameras can see through darkness or even smoke, they are often used by firefighters to detect fire. They are also used to detect overheating in electrical wiring. However, lately, they are being used as a screening device at public places like offices, airports, railway stations, bus depots, etc. to screen individuals with fever. Fever is one of the common symptoms of any viral infection, that can jump easily from one person to another. Hence to avoid any local outbreak, Thermal Cameras are deployed and infected individuals are isolated at an early stage itself.