See the Unseen
The world of thermal imaging and how it applies to today’s modern security solutions
- By Bill Parrish
- Dec 02, 2020
Never before has thermal
imaging technology been
as widely discussed as it is
today. While unfortunate for 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 manufacturers
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 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 worldclass
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 human being. It can detect hot spots in the floor that’s ready to
collapse or within a remaining wall that continues to smolder.
All of these applications are used by firefighters and
manufacturers have found ways to make thermal imaging
cameras so affordable that fire departments are finding ways to
equip every one of their firefighters with them.
Other previously unforeseen applications can be found in the
remote monitoring of electronic equipment. Imagine an elevator
control bank within a large office building. Long before mechanical
failure occurs and creates a potentially dangerous situation for
passengers and repair professionals, the circuitry within the control
system can deteriorate. By using thermal sensors and some basic
integration, early irregular heat detection of potential circuitry
malfunction can alert the elevator service team to contact a
building management team before they even know there could be a
costly – and potentially dangerous – problem.
APPLICATION MANAGEMENT
For the security management industry, these kinds of
application are being identified every day. In fact, let’s examine
how thermal imaging systems can be used to help make buildings
safer for its occupants during the COVID-19 pandemic. First,
it is important to note temperature screening products alone
cannot diagnose or exclude diagnosis of COVID-19 or any other
disease or condition. However, when used correctly, they are very
fast and effective at providing an initial temperature assessment
for business and institutions seeking to implement daily health
checks as recommended by the CDC.
As an initial front line of defense, thermal imaging systems are
an important singular component of a broader strategy to create
healthier environments.
When developed to follow FDA guidelines, and when used
as designed, thermal scanning products can quickly provide
an initial assessment of a person’s body temperature while
maintaining social distancing protocols. In an effort to provide
safer environments for businesses and other gathering places,
thermal imaging can detect elevated temperatures associated with
potentially ill people and these systems are not easily spoofed like
pyrometer-based kiosk solutions.
This implementation is already evolving, too. Through the use
of APIs (Application Programing Interface) available with some
thermal scanning systems, integrators can create specific integrated
network capabilities using multiple thermal imaging units and
temperature screening in one enterprise solution to include entry
door access following scans, triggering access control and video
management systems, sending pass/fail scan messages and alarm
events, and flagging video when a scan occurs.
That is where thermal imaging stands today. While the
industry’s focus has shifted this year to addressing public health
and safety by helping control the spread of the pandemic, there’s
much more in the works for the future. Soon, we’ll all get back
to developing new innovations and product
concepts for IoT applications, autonomously
driven vehicles and exploring more “unseen”
possibilities.
This article originally appeared in the November / December 2020 issue of Security Today.