The thermographic imaging camera market is booming as thermal imaging cameras move toward more intuitive, economical, standardized and intelligent benefits.
But over the past few decades, it has gradually become a more mainstream technology. With the increasing popularity of handheld thermal imaging cameras for maintenance and electrical troubleshooting applications, there is a growing awareness of the industrial benefits of thermal imaging technology, according to Memes Consulting. In 2020, we encountered the new crown epidemic again, and a large number of infrared thermal imaging solutions flooded into the market logically. Various thermal imaging sensor technologies and cameras are used for heat detection, although technically thermal imaging sensors can only measure skin surface temperature.
Nonetheless, infrared thermal imaging remains mysterious to many end users. Even a skilled machine vision integrator may be at a loss for non-visible light imaging techniques. This is not unusual, as humans lack the visual ability to visually perceive temperature.
To better understand the performance of infrared cameras and thermal imaging cameras, users must understand how thermographic imaging cameras work and the physics involved. Unlike standard machine vision cameras that operate in the visible spectrum (400 nm to 700 nm band), infrared camera and thermal imaging technology covers a wider spectral range, which is subdivided into three main bands: 0.9 μm to 1.7 μm The band belongs to short-wave infrared (SWIR), the 3 μm to 5 μm band belongs to mid-wave infrared (MWIR), and the 8 μm to 14 μm band belongs to long-wave infrared (LWIR).
Spectral bands are primarily defined by the characteristics of the detector technology in various types of cameras. The spectral bands come from the sensitive wavelengths of the detector material. Depending on scientific principles, the physics literature may classify infrared spectroscopy in different ways.
A more economical option is an infrared camera with an integrated microbolometer detector. The best thermography cameras vary in pixel resolution, detector noise level, and temperature measurement accuracy. These thermal imaging cameras can start at less than $1,000 with a resolution of 80 x 60 pixels. Microbolometers work quite differently from typical photon-capturing detectors and are primarily based on tiny thermally resistive pixels. Some of these infrared cameras mainly use thermoelectric cooling elements, which are easier to operate. When these pixels are exposed to infrared radiation (heat), their resistance changes. No low temperature refrigeration is required, the operation is simpler and the cost is lower.
