FLIR ONE PERSONAL THERMAL IMAGING DEVICE FOR YOUR iPHONE5 & 5s

[HP-ILnerd]

Heh, they can't even deliver in time in the US..

For what it's worth, mine showed up promptly.

Interesting thing is how quickly you get used to having it on you.  My phone feels weird without it.

[amyk]

Given that the hardware seems overkill for the task (Linux?), I think it's likely they took an existing camera platform they had, named "Rosebud" as you can see on the PCB, and put an iPhone interface on it. If I was doing this from scratch it wouldn't be much more than a USB hub with the visible camera and Lepton connected to it through a standard webcam chipset (the GPIOs these have could be used to control other functions like the Lepton I2C), and let the app on the phone do everything else including merging the images together. If low-cost Chinese "thermal webcams" start appearing, this is what I'd expect them to do.

[mikeselectricstuff]

Hard to tell what processing they are doing where, but the processor does seem overkill - I doubt it's from an existing product as it's pretty different to anything else  they make, but it could be they chose this approach due to existing libraries for things like the USB comms.

If nothing else it will be pulling rather more power than it needs to get the job done.

[majbthrd]

it could be they chose this approach due to existing libraries for things like the USB comms.

I thought that too; the Linux "gadget" driver might have saved them time/cost.  However, for the quantities they hope to sell in, surely it would have behooved them to just buy a license to USB device stack firmware from one of countless vendors and use a more efficient embedded processor (and a lot less flash and memory).

The jaded and pessimistic conclusion I came to was that FLIR developers on staff were more familiar with developing at a higher level.  (Look at the use of Windows CE in the E series.)  So, perhaps something more efficient didn't occur to them or seemed higher risk.

If the Flir ONE had a LCD, I could believe that it might be a trial effort for exploring the development hurdles in Linux versus CE (to potentially save licensing cost).

Alternatively, with interest in Raspberry PI, etc., perhaps FLIR wanted something more "hackable"?  (I've heard talk from "marketing" types in corporate environments who see the "maker" crowd as guinea pigs to do product exploration on their own dime.  Then, if a product shows commercial potential, they swing in for the credit.)

[mikeselectricstuff]

Need an even smaller thermal imager...?

[Fraser]

 

[all_repair]

Need an even smaller thermal imager...?

  mike, how to order one?

[Fraser]

FLIR definitely need to consider employing Mike in their product design team 

[firewalker]

You had to include Predator!  Excellent!!!

 

[HP-ILnerd]

I am stunned this whole series isn't on Hackaday yet.

[mikeselectricstuff]

I am stunned this whole series isn't on Hackaday yet.

I don't think it will be long....

[EEVblog]

I am stunned this whole series isn't on Hackaday yet.

I don't think it will be long....

I don't think so either. It's probably already in the pipeline they undoubtedly have.

[EEVblog]

The jaded and pessimistic conclusion I came to was that FLIR developers on staff were more familiar with developing at a higher level.  (Look at the use of Windows CE in the E series.)  So, perhaps something more efficient didn't occur to them or seemed higher risk.

Or it simply offered no benefit for the required target market.
I'm not surprised at all they did it that high level really.

Alternatively, with interest in Raspberry PI, etc., perhaps FLIR wanted something more "hackable"?

I doubt that. FLIR don't strike me as the company that would have that in their DNA.

[EEVblog]

Looks like these students managed to get their hands on a Lepton early on.
http://www.ece.ucsb.edu/academics/undergrad/capstone/documents-2014/ir-scout-poster.pdf

That's an awesome project!
Sounds like they had some mentors at Flir, maybe as part a work experience program or some such.

[HP-ILnerd]

Has anybody ever built a thermal bullet-time rig?
If you had a bunch of those Lepton sensors...

Not sure what such a thing would be useful for, but it sure would be interesting.
Maybe as a design aid for watching cold and hot air interact through a cooling system for something.

Or if you had just 2, you could do stereo pairs.  That could be fun too.

[mikeselectricstuff]

Looks like these students managed to get their hands on a Lepton early on.
http://www.ece.ucsb.edu/academics/undergrad/capstone/documents-2014/ir-scout-poster.pdf

That's an awesome project!
Sounds like they had some mentors at Flir, maybe as part a work experience program or some such.

There is a mention somewhere that Flir sponsored it.
I don't think as it stands it's too useful - it would need the MSX to make any sense of the images. I think you could probably make something with fewer, better cameras that automatically oriented itself downwards

[kripton2035]

Need an even smaller thermal imager...?

SIMPLY AMAZING !
Mike, you already stuned me with all the work you've done. this one is even more impressive !
any idea when we can get a lepton sensor  alone ?
what microcontroller do you use in the smallest thermal imager ?

[mikeselectricstuff]

Need an even smaller thermal imager...?

SIMPLY AMAZING !
Mike, you already stuned me with all the work you've done. this one is even more impressive !
any idea when we can get a lepton sensor  alone ?
what microcontroller do you use in the smallest thermal imager ?

Currently the only options are to harvest from a Flir One or buy 1000 at $250 each from Flir

[EEVblog]

I think you could probably make something with fewer, better cameras that automatically oriented itself downwards

That was my first thought, but this looks cooler 
All it needs is some hover capability:


That reminds me of part of a patent I worked on for an underwater device that was designed to right itself in one of two orientations on the sea floor.
Original designs called for any orientation etc, but in the end it was simpler and better to design it to fall into one of those two orientations.

[amyk]

Great work, you've created the Flir Nano! If 1000 people want to buy one...

1h with a 220mAh battery vs. 2h with a 1400mAh in the One (+ whatever the iPhone needs)... that's quite a huge difference. Of course the One does more processing on the image and shows actual temperature, but I don't think that would require so much more power.

The jaded and pessimistic conclusion I came to was that FLIR developers on staff were more familiar with developing at a higher level.  (Look at the use of Windows CE in the E series.)  So, perhaps something more efficient didn't occur to them or seemed higher risk.

They're a large company, and one thing that tends to happen with large companies is overwhelming amounts of bureaucracy, so their designs also tend to mirror that inefficiency. This is particularly noticeable with the "enterprise software" industry. Maybe it was really intended to be a standalone low-cost camera with an LCD at some point, but this is another explanation for their design decisions.

[Carrington]

Need an even smaller thermal imager...?

Wow... Awesome! I love it!


http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/lepton.html


@ David (EEvBlog admin): Please, add the above emoticon (or similar), to the others.

[Precipice]

Since (some) sensors can do faster than 19Hz frame rates, but aren't allowed to, has anyone done a spinning disc shutter that constantly does 1 frame calibration, 1 frame real  image?
No pesky dead-time while an intermittent shutter shambles up and down, nice easy mechanicals, doesn't take much power compared to hard acceleration, nice frequent calibration...

[Fraser]

That was used in BST cameras but has the disadvantage of spinning parts. Microbolometers were considered by many to be better as no spinning chopper wheel was needed.

[SPRX]

Great work Mike,

Excellent !!!

 

[HP-ILnerd]

Well it took a couple of days, but Mike's series finally made it on to Hackaday:
http://hackaday.com/2014/09/07/building-the-worlds-smallest-thermal-camera/