Robert Jones Posted January 7, 2014 Report Share Posted January 7, 2014 So the folks at FLIR have come out with a thermal device for use with smart phones. Interesting. FLIR for Smart Phone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Katen Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 I'm not finding any specifications. The specs will tell . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 From Robert's link - It's a plastic gizmo with two lenses and a slide switch that attaches to the back of the phone so your phone becomes twice as thick. In other words it has limited usefulness but can produce some low resolution thermal images. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Yes, interesting, pretty cool. My prediction..... a proliferation of IR selfies. From a national security perspective, it would allow highly restricted technologies to be easily concealed and transported outside US borders. I hate to say it, but I'll probably have to have one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Like Jim, I'll wait for the specs. A low pixel count yields only blobs. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Meiland Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Should be popular with hunters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Low pixel count = blobs, but honestly, after working with a 320x240 machine for a number of years, blobs can point one in the right direction. What I've found.....IR points where you should dig. A few court cases in Chicago, after testimony by expert witness's, found practitioners negligent if they don't dig. I stick with the Delmhorst for hard statements. At $350, it's a toy, but it might be a useful toy. Hunters? For sure. I've used my machine while birding. In conjunction with a spotting scope, it's revealed stuff I'd have never seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Raymond Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 A $350 case for your $700 phone? Dewalt's $750 visual IR thermometer has a 15x15 IR resolution overlayed on a 120x120 visible image. Completely useless. Flir has a line of real cameras at that price point. $995 gets you a sling psychrometer, moisture meter, and an 80 x 60 IR camera. With their new MSX image blending that might just be big enough for the average HI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kogel Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Hey Marc. Would you describe that thing as a picayune piece of equipment? [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles46 Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Here are a few spec's from the Flir site Click to Enlarge 18.79 KB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Hey Marc. Would you describe that thing as a picayune piece of equipment? [] Given the specs Charles has posted, it doesn't yet reach the value of half a picayune. The picayune itself is half a coin. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inspectorbello Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 At the risk of seeming overly opinionated for a newbie.....I agree with others, the resolution on this cannot be very good. Applications would be really limited. Probably be best used for hunting or frog gigging! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Wood Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 As pointed out, the FLIR One has many applications. Unfortunately, the low resolution makes visualizing the thermal patterning pretty poor. They "enhance" the image using the MXS process that overlays visual outlines over the thermal image. In addition I hear that multiple thermal images are merged, also helping fill in the thermal's initial low resolution. Both create a computer generated image that looks much better then the initial low resolution image. An interesting false image the MXS produces is the perception that you can see through glass. The visual overlay provides an image that looks like IR can see through glass. The low cost and suggested marketing features will create from the untrained owners, many false assumptions. As a professional thermographer I foresee many future discussions needed with clients who use this device, explaining away their perceived false interpretations. Maybe now is a good time to require proper certifications when used for commercial applications. Especially those following ASNT, BINDT or other independent organization's guidelines. This along with application specific training from a competent organization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben H Posted January 10, 2014 Report Share Posted January 10, 2014 I should go frog gigging. It's only been 20yrs or so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inspectorbello Posted January 13, 2014 Report Share Posted January 13, 2014 Probably longer than that for me! I should go frog gigging. It's only been 20yrs or so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inspectorbello Posted January 13, 2014 Report Share Posted January 13, 2014 Agreed, Scott! As a professional thermographer I foresee many future discussions needed with clients who use this device, explaining away their perceived false interpretations. Maybe now is a good time to require proper certifications when used for commercial applications. Especially those following ASNT, BINDT or other independent organization's guidelines. This along with application specific training from a competent organization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted January 13, 2014 Report Share Posted January 13, 2014 ...An interesting false image the MXS produces is the perception that you can see through glass. The visual overlay provides an image that looks like IR can see through glass... Except for interference by infrared coatings, isn't infrared radiation able to penetrate glass? Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Wood Posted January 13, 2014 Report Share Posted January 13, 2014 Solid materials have differing degree of transparency at different wavelengths. The thermal imager's lens is made of a metal! Borosilicate glass is 90% transmissive between 0.5-2.5 micrometers(um) (visible is 0.49-0.75um), dropping off to 5% at wavelengths around 3.5 um, becoming opaque at wavelengths greater than 5.0 um. The cooled detectors of the midrange thermal imagers (3-5um) can see through glass to some degree. However, most are familiar with a room temperature detector, which are longwave detectors (8-14um). None of these imagers can "see" through glass as described above. You mention coatings. It does get more complicated with coatings. Some absorb visible wavelengths, blocking them, re-emitting the energy as a longer wavelength (infrared) that we feel as heat. Some of these coating can cause the fenestration's glazing to heat up so much, that it expands shattering the glazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted January 13, 2014 Report Share Posted January 13, 2014 On a non-technical level, if one is scans across, say, a sliding glass door, it looks like an IR imaging mirror (more or less). It's kinda ghostly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Wood Posted January 14, 2014 Report Share Posted January 14, 2014 Yes, glass is a smooth spectral surface, providing sharp reflections in infrared, even though only about 14% reflective. Ghost hunters often use this in "discovering" ghosts with a thermal imager. If you look carefully you can see yourself waving back on some very smooth painted surfaces and always on glass surfaces. Brushed stainless is incredibly reflective in infrared, sometimes surprising the unsuspecting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlparham Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 So the folks at FLIR have come out with a thermal device for use with smart phones. Interesting. FLIR for Smart Phone This device might be fun (or deadly) when used in a local tavern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurt Posted January 19, 2014 Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 There was that disgusting and very funny episode in "Earl" where the boys were were scanned by someone with an IR imager and found to be.....ummmm....aroused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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