HellasCams - Axis Q1910 Thermal Network Camera - Application Example

AXIS Q1910 Thermal Network Camera

AXIS Q1910 Network Camera: for indoor use - AXIS Q1910-E Network Camera: for outdoor use

AXIS Q1910/E: Data Sheet [PDF] -

AXIS Q1910/E: Installation Guide [PDF]

AXIS Q1910/E: User's Manual [PDF]

Thermal detection [PDF]: the key to effective video surveillance

Detection in complete darkness

AXIS Q1910 Thermal Network Camera is a perfect complement to any network video system that needs to secure an area 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The camera uses thermal imaging, which allows users to detect people, objects and incidents in complete darkness and difficult conditions such as smoke, haze, dust and light fog.

Thermal cameras create images based on the heat that always radiates from any object, vehicle or person. This gives the cameras the power to see through complete darkness and deliver images that allow operators to detect and act on suspicious activity – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Reliable detection as a complement
Thermal cameras are excellent for detecting people, objects and incidents in darkness and other challenging conditions. Thermal cameras do not, however, deliver images that allow reliable identification – that is why thermal cameras and conventional cameras complement and support each other in a surveillance installation.

Thermal cameras do not require any additional light sources – conventional or IR – that consume energy, create shadows and reveal their locations. And, in contrast to conventional day-and-night cameras that depend on a certain amount of near-infrared light to function, thermal cameras deliver reliable surveillance images even in complete darkness.

Enhancing any professional IP-Surveillance system
Thermal cameras can handle many difficult weather conditions better than conventional cameras, e.g. allowing operators to see through smoke, haze and dust. Thermal cameras typically also provide better accuracy in intelligent video applications.

With affordable IP-based thermal network cameras from Axis, thermal imaging is a realistic option for enhancing any professional IP-Surveillance system.

Technology

Thermal cameras detect radiation in the infrared (IR) spectrum outside the range of visible light and near-infrared light.

Ordinary visible light has a wavelength of 0.4-0.7 µm. This is what the human eye can see, and also what standard, non-day/night cameras can detect and display. Light at this part of the spectrum requires a light source, e.g. the sun or a lamp.

Near-IR light, with a wavelength of 0.7-1.5 µm, is beyond what the human eye can see, but most camera sensors can detect it and make use of it. A day/night camera uses an IR-cut filter during the day to filter out IR-light so that it does not distort the colours of images as the human eye sees them. When the camera is in night mode, the IR-cut filter is removed. Since the human eye cannot see this light the camera displays the image as a black and white image. Near-IR light also requires a light source, which could be a natural part of the environment, such as streetlights or moonlight, or a dedicated IR-lamp.

Thermal radiation is emitted at wavelengths of 3-10 000 µm. Thermal radiation does not require a separate light source since the radiation comes from every object that has a temperature above 0 degrees Kelvin (-273.15 degrees C or -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit). That means that even very cold objects such as ice emit thermal radiation. The hotter the object is the more thermal radiation it emits. Or, in other words, the greater the temperature differences are in a scene, the better dynamic in the image the thermal camera will offer.

A thermal camera requires special sensors and special optics. Regular glass cannot be used for the lenses since this blocks the thermal radiation, which also means that standard camera housings cannot be used. Most lenses for thermal cameras are made using germanium, which is transparent to IR-light and thermal radiation.