Adding Thermal Cameras To Your Camect Surveillance System

Most security camera systems today have infrared light emitters that allow you to view objects in the dark. However, you can also use thermal cameras for surveillance at night. Thermal cameras can add an extra layer of security and illuminate objects based on their heat signature.

Camect Smart Camera Hubs can also detect objects on thermal cameras. Camect can identify a potential threat such as a person and distinguish that from other objects including animals or false alarms (wind, rain and bugs). Heat signatures from thermal cameras may not provide as much detail as a visual camera image, but Camect’s AI analytics are able to still identify the objects accurately.

This image shows an example Camect detection of a person through a thermal camera. The heat signature on the right is detected.

Camect Person Detection for Thermal Camera

In thick smoke or fog environments typical surveillance cameras may not be able to show a person, but the heat signature provide by a thermal camera can penetrate thick smoke and allow the person to be detected. Also, some infrared emitters from visual cameras have a limited range and may not be able to completely illuminate an area.

This Camect system show how thermal cameras can be combined with visible light based cameras to provide a complete view of a site. While some camera locations use infrared, the range limitations can limit the visibility. Adding thermal cameras increases the range substantially as seen in the Camect Home Screen.

Camect Home Screen with Thermal and Optical Cameras

The following video shows a number of people detections and a surveillance system with thermal cameras that is unified with visual cameras.

There is a catch… many thermal cameras available today but most are very expensive and can range from $3000 up to $7000. However, this investment may be required for high security environments that have large perimeters or restricted areas. Here are 2 thermal cameras that our users have reported good results for:

_{*we have not tested specific thermal cameras but are providing links as a convenience to our readers as other users have reported good results with thermal cameras from Axis and Flir systems.}