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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pulse - Sunday, May 3, 2015 - link
"The pixel array in the microbolometer is usually encapsulated in a vacuum to increase the life of the device." this statement is half correct. Actually array has to be encapsulated in a vacuum or else the air will conduct heat and will prevent system to work as an imager. When you keep the sensor area under vacuum and connect it to read out circuit with very thin electrical connections you remove the conductive heat and let the sensor area heat up just with the radiative heat; hence the termal imager... It has nothing to do with longevity of the device. And also vanadium oxide is usually called as VOx in the industry instead of VO as many oxides of vanadium is showing thermal phase transition which is the physical basis of the system.pureengineering - Monday, May 11, 2015 - link
anyone interested is messing around with a thermal sensor should checkout the flir lepton sensor.http://www.pureengineering.com/projects/lepton
in my unboxing I compare the seek vs the flir. and the flir comes out on top in terms of noise and image quality. http://www.pureengineering.com/blog/seekthermalcam...
aritai - Saturday, May 16, 2015 - link
Someone should do the bench work comparing a range of cell-phone cameras after removing the IR filter (embedded in the covers) for each camera. And see just how well they do even with glass lenses. Especially in very dark (and cold) settings. I think we'll be surprised. I suspect purpose built cameras are needed only when there's a need to derive an actual temperature (not relative temp).Wwhat - Wednesday, May 20, 2015 - link
Look at replies to a few other comments here that confuse the two ranges of what we call IR.Or check wikipedia.
To be short: the IR of normal camera sensors don't see radiated heat like thermo cameras do, it's a different frequency range.
A list of related frequencies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared#Commonly_us...
thermalEntusiast - Sunday, May 31, 2015 - link
can we buy this item if we live in asia? i thought this item is non exportableBeoir - Saturday, June 20, 2015 - link
Ahhhhh. Anyone happen to remember that the older cheaper Cameras used for photography can also see in the NIR?I've an old 3 MP camera that would probably do a better job. I'll sell it to you for 5 bucks.
FrancoB - Monday, August 31, 2015 - link
nice gadget, for professional use i would probably look for one of the other devices available out there. like this one :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEImRa_zX-M