Seek Thermal - Android Infrared Camera Review
by Ganesh T S on May 1, 2015 8:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Gadgets
- Thermal Imaging
- Seek Thermal
Miscellaneous Aspects and Concluding Remarks
The Seek Thermal camera connects to the microUSB port of a smart device, and hence, the measurement of the power consumption of the camera is quite challenging. We decided to monitor the battery voltage and current over Wi-Fi while the Seek Thermal camera was connected to the Dell Venue 8 7000. Obviously, the monitoring aspect contributes to power consumption since the Wi-Fi is kept in use all through. In the table below, we show the power consumption of the tablet for various scenarios.
| Seek Thermal Camera Power Consumption Estimation (Dell Venue 8 7000 with Wi-Fi Traffic On) |
|
| Scenario | Power Consumption (W) |
| Screen Off | 0.3416 |
| Screen On | 0.8282 |
| Seek Thermal Camera Preview | 3.3221 |
| Seek Thermal Camera Video Recording | 3.9920 |
Note that these power numbers are for the system as a whole and not the Seek Thermal camera alone
Related Plays
Seek Thermal was the first to come out with a sub-$200 thermal imaging solution. The price of the camera is now $249. They have also followed it up with the Seek Thermal XR - Xtra Range. It has the same resolution, but only a 20 degree field of view. However, it has an adjustable focus ring to be able to detect temperatures of objects up to 1800 ft. away. The XR model is priced at $299.
At CES 2015, FLIR was showing off its plans for a FLIR ONE that would be compatible with all iOS devices as well as a majority of Android devices. It is expected to land sometime towards the end of summer for a reasonable price point. For reference, the current FLIR ONE for iPhone 5/5s sells for $249. There is also a Kickstarter campaign for an affordable thermal imager from HemaVision, though the sensor resolution seems to be really low. All in all, thermal imagers are becoming more and more affordable, and given the multitude of useful applications, it is good news for consumers.
Scope for Improvement
The Seek Thermal camera is the ideal device for consumers to get started with a thermal imager without breaking the bank. It is more of a useful toy - given the applications that the company suggests that it be used for. We are not very convinced about the accuracy of the temperature readings, but it is good enough for the target market. Improvement aspects include higher resolution and frame rates for the microbolometer and a flexible microUSB connector for compatibility with a wider variety of devices. Finally, readers interested in a deeper technical dive into the camera would do well to peruse the EEVBlog thread here.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
57 Comments
View All Comments
soccerballtux - Monday, May 4, 2015 - link
oh, sorry, I def don't bother reading before commenting, and I'm not trolling, I really don'tIII-V - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
There's some in the second gallery, with the images from the camera hooked up to the Dell tablet. But yeah, the LG gallery was basically useless...icrf - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
I bought one a few months ago and took a variety of pictures. I initially got it to check for water infiltration behind my basement wall, and to check for insulation problems in my new house. Didn't find much in either case, but it's still a neat toy.Here's a wood fire in my fireplace, doors half closed. It shows the cropping of out of range heat sources: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0nI7vvE2kss/VMF...
Here's the piping from my water heater (it's a forced induction model, the large diagonal pipe is the exhaust, and the house originally had radiators, hence the distribution block above, but is still using the hot water for hydronic heating, ie, pipes going across the room is going to the forced air system): https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-DOkKb4enigY/VMF...
Speaking of the force air system, here's the piping that is the radiator: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZpLEEC3JM40/VMF...
Here's the poor circulation in my hand: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-S_2o-FJkBF0/VMF...
A friend's dog: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-ZfoakkyVmZg/VMF...
My gas range after cooking something: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vWoxkzCWCAs/VMF...
Cooking a sandwich on an aluminum griddle: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IpDCRdtM_24/VMF...
Selfie, mouth open, but inhaling through my nose (it was neat to see the change when inhaling/exhaling): https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-SAf2x2-4vMk/VIR...
My girlfriend wearing a down jacket and glasses taking a drink of water from a bottle: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-T6RqL-dhM0Q/VIR...
I have a neat video of water boiling, but that's a little harder to link to.
Also, I have a Moto X and a Nexus 7, and their USB plugs face opposite directions. I use the phone for normal pictures, and the tablet for selfies. Works out pretty good.
Any requests?
edwpang - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
Pretty cool!bp2008 - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
I have two of these for Android, and a $20 Nubee non-contact thermometer from Amazon. The Seek thermal cameras are both the same; they read consistently about 8 degrees Fahrenheit lower than the Nubee.After months of inaccurate readings, there is still no way to calibrate the temperature shown on-screen and in snapshots or videos.
I have not measured properly, but the frame rate feels like it is below 6 FPS (even on FAST android devices), and it drops a frame every time it self-calibrates (every few seconds) so its video is inconsistent and choppy.
It also does a poor job of seeing fine temperature differences, compared to more expensive thermal cameras. Sure, it will pick a cat out of the bushes just fine, but it will not show you the studs behind drywall nearly as well as a more expensive thermal camera.
SilthDraeth - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
ICRF , do you by chance have an empty field or something, that you could see if a dog, or cat shows up at 100 ft, or more in the dark?icrf - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
There's a gallery up on the mfg's website with a bunch more random photos: http://www.thermal.com/gallery/I remember when I bought it, pre-user gallery, they specifically had one of a guy hopping a fence from 50 feet away. I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow for a week, so probably won't have the option to find something nice. Best I could do are my neighbor's dogs in their fenced in yard.
Daylight or dark shouldn't make much difference. If anything, dark would be easier to spot, thermally, because the background might be cooler.
blue_urban_sky - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
I have 2 requests, Could you take a pic of boiling water with the reported temperature and also a glass of water with a lot of ice cubes in again with the temp reading. Thinking ice in water should equalise to roughly 0 deg C.Looking to get accuracy so also altitude of the tests if you have it :) or your rough location and I'll find it.
Mr Perfect - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
How does it do if you point it inside your desktop? It would be interesting to find hot spots that aren't being cooled properly.FYoung - Saturday, May 2, 2015 - link
Those photos are neat, icrf. Especially the one of your hand.