Night Vision vs Thermal Imaging
Sales Engineer: Gloria Gao
Email: gloria@bri-elec.com
WhatsApp: 0086-199 2997 5286
Night Vision vs Thermal Imaging
Thermal imaging cameras are actually sensors that detect heat rather than cameras (also called thermal energy or infrared). These devices detect radiation in a technical sense. The number of radiation increases as the temperature rises.
A thermal imager can detect minute differences in heat and display them as an image (or thermogram) on a screen with enough precision. Temperature differences are as small as 0.01°C can be detected by some of the world’s most sophisticated devices. Temperatures are represented by different colors, so in a black-and-white thermal image, the lighter the color, the hotter the object (newer thermal imagers can invert this or use a wide variety of colors). Humans, animals, and automobiles all produce heat and are typically warmer than their surroundings, allowing a thermal imager user to get a good look at them. Because their body temperature adjusts to their surroundings, cold-blooded animals like snakes and alligators are more difficult to see.
What is Night Vision
The same technology as standard cameras is used in night vision devices, but at a higher magnification. These systems scan for visible light in nighttime settings and absorb it. This light is then magnified and depicted in images with a greenish tint. “Image intensifier” devices are also known as night vision devices. This is a better, more specific descriptor for them, because “night vision devices” encompasses both image intensifiers and thermal imaging or infrared cameras, as they all aid in night vision.
Night vision image intensifiers are a basic technology that works in the same way as a regular camera but amplify any light available. Any ambient light, such as light from the moon, stars, or distant light sources, is magnified and visible as greenish images. The public is familiar with this technology from movies, video games, and television shows, but it is also used in real-life scenarios by the military, law enforcement, and hunters to detect wildlife such as deer in the woods at night.
Difference Between Night Vision and Thermal Imaging
1: To work properly, night vision requires nearby visible light. Thermal imaging doesn’t require any light to work.
2: Night vision works by amplifying visible light in the immediate vicinity. Thermal imaging uses infrared sensors to detect temperature differences between objects in its line of sight.
3: Night vision enlarges the light in a scene and converts it to green-tinted images. Heat signatures are translated into clear viewable images by thermal imaging, and objects with higher heat signatures are shown in bright yellow, orange, or red.
4: Conditions such as dust, smoke, overcast nights, rain, and fog impair night vision. These conditions have no effect on thermal imaging, which can see in complete darkness.
5: While night vision has its uses, it is an outdated technology that is less expensive but of lower quality than other options. Thermal imaging is a highly sought-after technology that, while more expensive than other options, improves nighttime safety more than its competitors while remaining affordable.
