The Power of Infrared Thermal Imaging for People Detection

Infrared thermal imaging, also called infrared imaging or thermal imaging, allows us to see how people are using space in ways we couldn’t before and often can’t with traditional camera monitoring. It’s a powerful tool for planning building layouts and doing people movement studies.

Detecting people in environments where visibility is low can be challenging. Infrared thermal imaging sensors provide an additional tool for people detection in these situations. They are handy for detecting humans in smoke, fog, haze, dust, and darkness. The need for influential people detection systems is growing as the risks associated with contactless card-present transactions, contactless intelligent cities, and people density in public places increase.

Infrared thermal Imaging for people detection is a powerful technology that can help detect people in hard-to-access locations where video surveillance may not be able to. Thermal imaging cameras are also ideal for detecting people in low light conditions, making them particularly well suited for use at night. In this blog, we will discuss the power of Infrared thermal Imaging for people detection.

Source: Allied Market Research

Infrared Thermal Camera for People Detection

A thermal infrared camera is an imaging device that uses infrared radiation to create an image of objects behind a wall, ceiling, or other physical structure. It works by detecting the thermal radiation emitted by objects at temperatures above absolute zero (-173 °C). In addition, it can sense non-visible radiation emitted from objects to create a thermal map of the scene. The thermal images produced by a thermal infrared camera can help identify and locate hidden and latent heat sources. They are known as night-vision cameras and thermal imagers to capture and record images in low light.

The quality of the infrared camera makes it very popular with detectors and military technology.

For example, the thermal image below shows an older man with a fever. His face and hands are warmer than the rest of his body, giving him a red color in the thermal picture. You can see the same exciting detail if you use a smartphone app like FLIR One to take a thermal capture of a person’s face.

Source: gcn

What is the Effect of Thermal Imaging on the Human Body?

One of the most advanced forms of Imaging in medical diagnostics is thermography using infrared technology. The human body emits naturally occurring wavelengths of thermal radiation when examined with infrared cameras. The camera works by recording the emitted thermal radiation and analyzing temperature changes in various body regions.

For Instance, thermal Imaging uses heat-sensitive equipment that enables healthcare professionals to pinpoint unusual thermal activity. As a result, medical professionals can arrange treatment for patients experiencing health issues by detecting this activity. The below image shows how thermal Imaging finds Cardiovascular Health, Musculoskeletal Disorders, Sinus and Allergies, Digestive Disorders, and Dental Challenges.

Source: Insight Thermography ok

Infrared Thermal Imaging for People Detection in Stadiums

Stadiums are places where you can often see people doing lots of different activities. From soccer matches to football matches, from basketball matches to music shows, the stadiums are always crowded with fans enthusiastic about their favorite teams or performers. At the same time, however, they are sports venues and other large crowds that present potential terrorist threats for civil and military security forces worldwide.

Infrared thermal Imaging for people detection in stadiums is a technology that evolved from military and law enforcement surveillance. Its goal is to identify and locate people within an area and recognize their type, including evacuees, lost children, or criminals.

It uses infrared thermal Imaging to create a graphical display of activities inside a stadium—the image updates about once every 3 seconds. So security operators can detect people in the facility without relying on cameras visible to customers.

According to the report published by Fortune Business Insights, The global temperature sensor market size was USD 5.02 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 7.88 billion by 2026.

This technology operates over any background ranging from air to solid surfaces. The infrared sensors detect early movements of an approaching crowd and accidents on the sports grounds. This technology for people detection provides reliable information on the position, direction, crowd flow pattern, and density. In addition, it can see people through smoke, fog, and other obscurants that would otherwise cloud the visibility of an area’s regular cameras.

For example, the image below demonstrates how the London Stadium uses thermal imaging cameras to detect feverish guests.

Source: claret and Hugh

What is the Purpose of a laptop’s infrared camera?

The first infrared facial recognition appeared in a Windows 10 feature called Windows Hello, allowing anyone to log on to a PC without a password or PIN. Instead, the camera takes a photo of your face when you tap on the new laptop’s screen. Sophisticated algorithms analyze as many as 50 specific characteristics of your face, including the distance between your eyes, the shape of your cheeks, and your jawline, and then instantaneously create a template that is compared instantaneously with those stored within the laptop’s encrypted memory.

For Instance, Microsoft is taking an industry-wide leap in biometrics with its Windows 10 operating system. Starting with the new Surface Pro, Microsoft’s hardware partners are embedding infrared cameras into their notebooks to enable users to log on with facial recognition instead of passwords.

How thermal Imaging works?

Thermal cameras monitor temperature by detecting and collecting infrared light invisible to the naked eye. While humans can see a minimal range of wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum, thermal cameras can capture a broader scope, including infrared radiation. This radiation is emitted from the surface of objects and depending on the object’s temperature. The more thermal energy an object emits, the hotter it is.

For Instance, the thermal imaging system uses a thermopile device mounted in the aircraft’s nose. The thermopile generates an electrical pulse when there is a temperature change. The camera compares the temperature difference of the object it is tracking between two consecutive photos to achieve thermal infrared Imaging. This difference looks like an area or line drawing known as thermography.

What is the Purpose of an Infrared Camera?

The diverse range of applications for infrared cameras is expanding every day. From the remote scanning of ancient artifacts to inspecting large-scale industrial plants, infrared technology has proven to be an invaluable tool in countless industries, including your own. As a result, the uses of infrared cameras are numerous.

The Insight Partners study says The infrared Cameras Market is expected to reach US$ 9,055.58 Mn by 2027

For Instance, infrared cameras are used to examine heat patterns, track heat, monitor changes in heat distribution, and determine warm objects in cold climates. In addition, create 3-D models of buildings and other structures, locate energy loss in buildings, monitor mold growth, weather events, harvest cycles of crops, and monitor energy usage.

Conclusion

People detection is a fast-emerging discipline of computer vision most of the state-of-the-art people detection algorithms, based on heat transfer. Detecting people via thermal sensing has many advantages, the most important being the presence of highly discriminative features generated by people’s behaviors.

Visionify’s People detection and tracking solutions are best when working in a crowded/moving environment. It uses deep learning, computer vision, and tracking algorithms, which helps it provide accurate results with speed and accuracy. Contact us to get a demo.