Thermal imagers have many uses in hunting, surveillance, and equipment maintenance
Surveillance

Thermal Imaging for Surveillance

In this article, we’re going to take a look at using thermal imaging (or “thermal vision”) for surveillance purposes. First of all, what do we mean by thermal imaging? All natural and manmade objects emit infrared energy as heat. With the right equipment we can detect the very subtle temperature differences of everything in view – and present it as a video image. Thermal imaging technology reveals what otherwise would be invisible to the naked eye. This sounds like exotic technology (and it sort of is) but you’ll also be surprised at just how capable and affordable these thermal vision devices have become. Having said that – “affordable” is relative in this case. This IR gear is more expensive than night vision devices that use Image Intensification methods that amplify ambient light. There are also a lot of interesting uses of IR that aren’t just for surveillance – we’ll talk about those too. Advantages of Thermal Imaging for Surveillance Thermal Imaging has some substantial benefits over class night vision using Image Intensification. Thermal imaging works in daylight or darkness – [Read More…]

View through a high quality night vision device.
Surveillance

Night Vision Devices for Surveillance

Let’s look at Night Vision Devices (NVD) for long range surveillance. We’re going to review how night vision works, and how you can practically apply it for medium to long range surveillance. We’ll be talking about Image Intensification (I2 or I2) technology. How Night Vision Through Image Intensification Works Let’s talk about Image Intensification. This is a light intensification method. In a nutshell, the electronics take the available ambient light (such as moonlight, starlight, etc.) and amplify it to a level that can be seen. It’s important to note that there is not much ability to determine colors with night vision. Depth perception can be a problem as well. What does this night vision view look like? Here’s an example. The image is shades of green – a familiar look you’ve probably seen in the movies (or maybe in real life!) Why is it green? Because green phosphorous is used as part of the light intensification electronics. Let’s take a look at that. Light (consisting of “photons”) comes into the device’s lenses. The device contains one or more “Image Intensification [Read More…]