A low-cost thermal imaging sensor for networked applcations

The cost of thermal imaging technology has, up until now, precluded its use in networked sensor systems which require sensors to be deployed in very large numbers. Detectors based on the manufacturing processes used in the production of conventional silicon chips offer a breakthrough in cost compared to other technologies. Despite having modest performance, this technology offers a route toward a very cost-effective thermal imaging sensor for networked applications, where the limited performance of each individual sensor is less significant due to the advantage given by large numbers of sensors covering the target area. By carefully optimising the detector format, this low-cost technology is able to achieve useful performance at short ranges which are suited to a networked sensor system.