Page 22 - Security Today, November/December 2020

See the Unseen
The world of thermal imaging and how it applies to today’s modern security solutions
BNy Bill Parrish
ever before has thermal imaging technology been as widely discussed as it is today. While unfortunate all of us, COVID-19 has
cast light onto various thermal scanning technologies available to help prevent the spread of coronavirus by detecting people who may have elevated body temperatures. And, like the California Gold Rush of 1848, dozens of new players – both manu- facturers and distributors – are entering new territory for the first time.
This is not about that mad dash. Instead, let’s take a look at how the technology works, its origins, how the last decade has seen it commercialized for various security applications and where it can be used moving forward.
WARTIME TECHNOLOGY
So, like the Jeep and many other exciting innovations from World War II, modern thermal imaging was developed for military applications. Thermal sensors, and the cooling apparatuses they required, were so large that transporting them required tanks or planes. Technology improvements over the next 50 years made thermal devices easier to transport and less expensive.
Thermal imaging works because infrared radiation (or infrared light) exists everywhere as all objects above absolute zero emit heat signatures. This radiation is invisible to the naked eye and, simply put, thermal imaging cameras detect these light waves, processes them and then displays them as an image. The infrared light waves are captured by the camera, calculated with microbolometers and specific thermographic algorithms and become visible when outputted on a screen. The resolution of the image is dependent on a number of variables but, relative to selecting the correct camera for security needs, one of the key factors is the number of pixels for the image screen.
After previously providing thermal engineering for military and large-scale commercial use, my mission changed to finding more affordable ways to allow the world to “see the unseen”. By building smaller, lighter, high-powered thermal cameras priced for commercial and consumer use, we set out to reveal
“The resolution of the image is dependent on a numberofvariablesbut,relativetoselectingthe correct camera for security needs, one of the key factors is the number of pixels for the image screen.”
the world of energy that surrounds us. Doing so means providing highly useful information for solving everyday problems by detecting and visualizing heat.
WIDESPREAD ADOPTION
Until the last decade, the major historic deterrent to the widespread adoption of thermal imaging has been its lack of affordability. Today, however, there are several innovative and world- class thermal imaging companies capable of manufacturing excellent products for a fraction of historical costs. But, the real value of thermal imaging is found within the data, how that information is used and how the technology’s affordable scalability has revealed so many other uses
unimaginable only a few years ago.
For example, the industry has seen tremendous growth in the fire and rescue profession. Imagine being a firefighter and entering a darkened structured full of
black smoke.
The human eye cannot see trapped
human beings. The eye is completely unable to detect if a floor is about to collapse because the fire has made it structurally unsafe. And, after the fire is presumably extinguished, a firefighter cannot see a hot spot that remains somewhere in the building. But, a small, handheld thermal camera can detect all of this because it doesn’t see anything but heat. It can “see” through black smoke and distinguish the heat signature of flames from that of a
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 | SECURITY TODAY
THERMAL IMAGING
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