Thanks to multiple drivers, the market for infra-red thermal imaging cameras and modules is expanding rapidly. It is expected to increase from $6,202M in 2021 to $8,761M in 2026. The estimated Compound Annual Growth Rate from 2021-2026 for thermal camera shipment volumes is 7.2%.

Defense application demand pulls the infra-red thermal imaging camera market. There is progressively more portable equipment for soldiers, such as thermal weapon sights and night vision goggles. ‘Smart city’ surveillance applications are also important. Thermal camera technology is increasingly adopted by integrators thanks to cost decreases. It is also boosted by the democratization of thermal imaging in industrial thermography. Finally, thermal imaging is becoming consumerized.

There are many products on the market. Users, integrators, and sensor manufacturers must discriminate between available products based on accurate and independent assessments of their performance and features.

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PISÉO’s analysis

There are tens of thermal sensors and camera manufacturers including Teledyne FLIR, Seek Thermal, Raytheon Technologies, BAE Systems, Lynred, HikVision, InfiRay, i3system, GuideIR, Fluke, Safran and Testo. PISÉO has so far selected and analyzed four thermal camera modules, giving rise to four reports:

• InfiRay T3S camera module,
• Flir Boson 640 Pro camera,
• Seek Thermal S309P 12µm x 12µm QVGA module
• InfiRay Micro3 384T camera module.

Thanks to its own standard, PISÉO ran deep analyses of sensor performance and the embedded image processing algorithms of each camera.

These reports help thermal imaging camera and module market actors to better understand the characteristics of such products, enabling better strategic decision making.

The present report is a special one, reporting the most important performance test results and analyses done on these four cameras. It is an opportunity to make fair comparisons between product features and performance.

PISÉO’s finding’s about this cameras

The FLIR Boson camera module is a reference in the infra-red thermal camera market. It is the product with the most accessible functionality, offering the most versatility to be used in a wide range of applications. The resulting image quality is good, the relatively low performance of the sensor being compensated by strong image processing algorithms.

The two InfiRay camera modules embed a well-performing sensor.

The InfiRay Micro III 384T delivers good quality images. However, the lack of documentation and supports suggests that this module is mainly dedicated to integration by InfiRay in its own products.

The InfiRay T3S camera module also provides good image quality. However, the versatility and integration possibilities are limited. It is intended to be plugged into a smartphone. It is a good value-for-money product.

The strength of the Seek Thermal S309P camera module is its ease of integration. The image quality, while being acceptable, remains the lowest of the four benchmarked cameras according to PISÉO’s common testing protocol used for all four thermal cameras, as explained in the report. It has a low performing sensor equipped with basic image processing algorithms.

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Thanks to multiple drivers, the market for infrared thermal imaging cameras and modules is
expanding rapidly, with a multiplicity of products on offer.

There is, therefore, a need for users, integrators, and sensor manufacturers to be able to discriminate between available products based on accurate and independent assessments of their performance and features.

This report is the fourth of its kind, focused on helping thermal imaging camera and module market actors to better understand the characteristics of such products, enabling better strategic decision making.

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PISÉO’s finding’s about InfiRay Micro III Camera

The Micro III camera module as tested by PISEO contains a strongly performing bolometric sensor, producing good quality images with low numbers of bad pixels. Unfortunately, the image quality is not enhanced well by the image processing firmware, which contains basic tone mapping functions but with errors on some of them. From a user’s perspective the software platform is not supportive enough to get the best out of the camera’s potential.

Compared to the Boson camera module from FLIR, which is a reference product in this field, the Micro III module is based on a higher quality sensor which should provide good image quality in many user cases. However, InfiRay’s algorithms for signal correction and image processing, which make the Boson camera’s approach interesting, largely underperform. The system engineer may be surprised by how difficult it is to reach the sensor’s potential.

The impression one gets from the analysis of the Micro III is that this module is better for internal InfiRay applications than for external ones. The multiple user interfaces and the approximation of the software tools suggests case-to-case improvements inspired by specific application contexts.

Objectives of this report

Today, there is no independent thermal camera performance analysis covering both bolometric sensor and image precision and characteristics.
Based on PISÉO’s characterization standards, the thermal camera analysis from PISÉO aims to:

• Verify the performance values communicated by the manufacturers,
• Compare performance with other thermal cameras,
• Study performance in different conditions.
• This analysis is aimed at sensor designers, system architects, marketing teams and sales teams.

This report presents :
•An analysis of the user functions of the camera
•An analysis of the measured performance parameters of the embedded microbolometric sensor
•An analysis of the measured thermometric performance and optical architecture of the camera
•An analysis of the sensor correction functions and algorithms
•An analysis of the image processing flow from sensor to image, as well as an assessment of image quality
•Our opinion of the camera’s features and performance
•A fair comparison of the product’s performance against other marketed products

Related reports about camera analysis

More reports will come soon which will allow fair product features and performances comparisons:  Guide sensmart, HIK Vision… cameras and modules.

PISÉO has participated in the publication of other reports, notably with YOLE DEVELOPPEMENT, the market research and strategy consulting company.

Other related reports :

• FLIR Boson Thermal Camera Performance Analysis
• iRAY T3S Thermal Camera Performance Analysis
• Seek Thermal S309SP Thermal Camera Performance Analysis

The post InfiRay Micro III Camera Core Performance Analysis appeared first on PISÉO.

With their skills in the implementation of IR LEDs and optical design, PISEO experts have designed and qualified an innovative illumination system using pulsed IR LEDs and specific lenses to illuminate a scene at long distance witha light invisible to the naked eye. The main objective was Tt design and prototype a brand new illuminator for SWIR cameras.

Performed services

• Definition of application requirements (use cases, performance & regulations) and cost objectives.
• State of the art analysis of available IR LED technologies and proposal of optical and electronic concepts.
• Evaluation of the achievable performances of the different concepts by calculation and simulation with LightTools 8.7.
• Specification of the chosen optical and electronic architectures.
• Thermal design.
• Detailed design of the optical and electronic systems.
• Realization of mock-ups and prototypes.
• Performance assesment by means of IR goniophotometry.
• Prototype qualification.

The post Design and prototyping of IR High Power illuminator for imaging camera appeared first on PISÉO.