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.
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icrf - Friday, May 29, 2015 - link
Now that G+ Photos has exited G+, it's easier to share links to videos. Here's the one of the water boiling: https://goo.gl/photos/5rQx7kqJSDvzcWRGAganeshts - Saturday, May 2, 2015 - link
One of our fellow readers has provided a nice set of images. I have also added a page prior to the concluding section with some sample images.slashbinslashbash - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
Having experienced crashing my car into a moose on a dark Colorado highway, I am extremely interested in this technology as some kind of early warning system for night driving in areas where there are likely to be deer or other large animals. I would love to see some samples of the output for far-away warm objects such as humans or other animals.Daniel Egger - Saturday, May 2, 2015 - link
You'd have to mount it outside of the car though as even the reflectivity of regular glass completely throws off the sensor, let alone car windshields and windows which usually usually coated with vaporized metal specifically to block IR and UV.DanNeely - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
How are they getting a 720p video out of a 206x156 sensor? Unless they're able to jiggle the sensor back and forth a fraction of a pixel to interpolate a higher resolution, wouldn't 720p offer nothing except resizing artifacts over a lower resolution version?ganeshts - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
It is upsampling with some tricks, as explained in this paper: http://www.sersc.org/journals/IJSH/vol8_no1_2014/5...In higher-end thermal imagers, the optical image sensor output is also used along with the thermal sensor's output to do a better job of the upsampling.
nathanddrews - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
Save some money:http://amzn.com/B00CVHIJDK
ganeshts - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
No doubts about that for certain applications, but for a majority of the use cases (checking for moving animals in the dark, finding the hotspots in a PC quickly, tracing clogs in plumbing etc.), the IR thermometers just won't cut it :) Trust me, I have used both - for different purposes :)carlwu - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
I have this device. Around doors and windows, you can plainly see where there is heat loss in the winter time. Some areas you can address, others you can't.SilthDraeth - Friday, May 1, 2015 - link
I love how the guy in the comments has taken more useful pictures than the reviewer. Sure, taking the pictures the reviewer took contains data. But for god sake, take pictures of animals at night. Etc. For instance, I was contemplating this device, I was curious if on a pitch dark night, if I could see a coyote at 300 feet away in the darkness based on his heat signature. Obviously, coyotes aren't going to play nice, but, if a person would show up on an empty field at 300 feet it would be enough information for me to go off of.