Many users (android since no-one has the iOS device yet,- see their Facebook page) are complaining about 9 degrees of difference across a uniform target!
I shot an email to their sales address. We'll see how quickly they respond. I tried it on my iPhone and I could get some of it but everything was too large and I couldn't zoom out.
don't hold your breath, I have received just one from 17 email requests in the last 2 months.
This is all great news. Quadcopters (I hate the term drone) and iPhones using this technology will make finding people trapped in earthquakes, lost in woods etc. not to mention hostages and kidnap victims, a lot easier for the fire and rescue services and police. I know they already have far better technology but expensive and often requiring manned helicopters. The cost of a fleet of small quadcopter with these would be relatively low and deployment very fast.
Thanks! I was trying to come up with possible real life uses for these attachments. Except for GTR's weekend hobby I had a hard time finding any. Search and rescue using drones gives purpose to both (drones as well)
I have a quadcopter configured for SAR operations, and there is no question that adding IR in addition to visible spectrum imaging would increase its functionality. For SAR use in the US the biggest issue currently is the FAA.
I'm curious if either sensor is sensitive enough to recognize differences in temperatures of parts of a tire tread. The old school method of adjusting inflation pressures and camber based on pyrometer readings is hardly quick.
I went to SEEK's site, and they don't spec accuracy. The only spec that some might think is for accuracy, <9Hz, is the number of readings per sec. But the readings are given in increments of one degree, so we can assume that while accuracy could possibly be around two to three degrees plus or minus, it will detect differences of perhaps plus or minus a degree or so. Is that enough, or don't you know?
Absolute accuracy will be nowhere near a few degrees. Even calibrated lab units don't achieve that in actual use since the temperature is derived from integrated intensity which depends on emissivity (generally unknown), as well as temperature. It would need to do multipoint pyrometry or other spectral technique to measure a significant portion of the Planck distribution to get around that fundamental limitation.
I'm not in a business where I need a thermal imager. I could imagine using something like this on my house to figure out where I need to insulate. Are there enough applications for this to make it worthwhile for the average person? (Read: this is cool. How do I justify buying one?)
I thought you were going to say, "using something like this on my house to figure out if a robber was waiting behind the door preparing to mug me as I go in." I guess that is the application for the average person.
I own a Flir One and am waiting for my Seek Thermal to arrive. These are AMAZING gadgets and you should have no hesitation on getting either of them.
A couple of non-obvious things about the Flir One:
First, because this is designed as an integrated add-on case assembly, you're going to have to give up that nice cocoon that's swaddling your iPhone now. The non-IR part of the two-piece unit is only barely protective compared to Otterboxes and other cases. I certainly wouldn't have it as the case for my daily-use phone; luckily, In my case I have a decommissioned iPhone 5 so I don't have to worry about it.
Second, for some reason the IR component and the iPhone must be charged separately. There is no pass-through charging of the phone, which means you have to carry two chargers - a microUSB for the Flir and a Lightning for the iPhone - and you have to slide them apart to charge the phone.
Third, support of Lightning devices other then an iPhone 5/5s is dependent on the Flir module physically fitting AND on the Flir-provided apps actually running on the hardware. I don't have the Flir unit with me at the moment so I can't vouch for it fitting the iPhone 6 or other devices, but I believe the last time I looked at it I thought I was going to need a Dremel tool to make it work.
The software is another issue. The initial releases refused to run on anything other than an iPhone 5 or 5s, meaning no iPad, no iPod Touch, and no iPhone 6/6 Plus, even if they did physically fit. But... I just tried the Flir One app on an iPhone 6 so it looks like they've removed at least some restrictions, but you should check first before you buy.
If anyone is still interested, according to their Facebook page, they are automatically refunding everyone who were charged already of iOS version, and canceling all iOS orders. Seek claim that once Apple approve the device, they will offer it again.
I don't think that it can be compared to the original devices. I bought one from http://www.test-equipment.com.au/flir-systems and another one for my iPhone on eBay, and I'm not satisfied at all with the phone extension.
Comments
Many users (android since no-one has the iOS device yet,- see their Facebook page) are complaining about 9 degrees of difference across a uniform target!
I shot an email to their sales address. We'll see how quickly they respond. I tried it on my iPhone and I could get some of it but everything was too large and I couldn't zoom out.
don't hold your breath, I have received just one from 17 email requests in the last 2 months.
by the time its actually available, you might be able to afford it
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Seek-Thermal/628554970550411
I have a quadcopter configured for SAR operations, and there is no question that adding IR in addition to visible spectrum imaging would increase its functionality. For SAR use in the US the biggest issue currently is the FAA.
Absolute accuracy will be nowhere near a few degrees. Even calibrated lab units don't achieve that in actual use since the temperature is derived from integrated intensity which depends on emissivity (generally unknown), as well as temperature. It would need to do multipoint pyrometry or other spectral technique to measure a significant portion of the Planck distribution to get around that fundamental limitation.
Puts another spin on the babe your hot old adage.
bring it on for the 6+ please.
This would make my weekend hobby of hunting army special ops. teams in the South American jungle considerably easier.
Dutch: [looks up in awareness] He's using the trees.
The competition in this space is really heating up...
We thermally imaged what you did there.
I'm not in a business where I need a thermal imager. I could imagine using something like this on my house to figure out where I need to insulate. Are there enough applications for this to make it worthwhile for the average person? (Read: this is cool. How do I justify buying one?)
I thought you were going to say, "using something like this on my house to figure out if a robber was waiting behind the door preparing to mug me as I go in." I guess that is the application for the average person.
A couple of non-obvious things about the Flir One:
First, because this is designed as an integrated add-on case assembly, you're going to have to give up that nice cocoon that's swaddling your iPhone now. The non-IR part of the two-piece unit is only barely protective compared to Otterboxes and other cases. I certainly wouldn't have it as the case for my daily-use phone; luckily, In my case I have a decommissioned iPhone 5 so I don't have to worry about it.
Second, for some reason the IR component and the iPhone must be charged separately. There is no pass-through charging of the phone, which means you have to carry two chargers - a microUSB for the Flir and a Lightning for the iPhone - and you have to slide them apart to charge the phone.
Third, support of Lightning devices other then an iPhone 5/5s is dependent on the Flir module physically fitting AND on the Flir-provided apps actually running on the hardware. I don't have the Flir unit with me at the moment so I can't vouch for it fitting the iPhone 6 or other devices, but I believe the last time I looked at it I thought I was going to need a Dremel tool to make it work.
The software is another issue. The initial releases refused to run on anything other than an iPhone 5 or 5s, meaning no iPad, no iPod Touch, and no iPhone 6/6 Plus, even if they did physically fit. But... I just tried the Flir One app on an iPhone 6 so it looks like they've removed at least some restrictions, but you should check first before you buy.
Not available anymore!
If anyone is still interested, according to their Facebook page, they are automatically refunding everyone who were charged already of iOS version, and canceling all iOS orders. Seek claim that once Apple approve the device, they will offer it again.
Brings an end to weeks of bullshit from them.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=electronics&field-keywords=flir gizzmovest
Presently they have a protective cover for the FLIR ONE model shown above.
http://www.gizzmovest.com/GizzMoVest_FLIR_ONE.cfm