[Dmytro] was able to lay his hands on a InfiRay T2S+ camera. It’s a capable thermal imaging unit that comes at a cheaper price than many of its rivals. [Dmytro] decided to pull it apart to see what makes it tick, and he discovered a few interesting things along the way.
Like so much modern hardware, pulling the case apart does require some spudging and levering. Once inside, though, it comes apart in a relatively straightforward manner. Once inside, [Dmytro] notes some similarities between this camera and the Flir Lepton, another affordable thermal camera on the market. He also finds a clone of the Cypress FX2LP chip, which is used for talking USB. There’s also an Gowin FPGA inside, with [Dmytro] suspecting the gateware onboard could be modified. If so, the camera may be a candidate for running open source firmware in future.
What bothered [Dmytro] about this camera, though, was the software. When used with an Android phone, the camera demands the use of a proprietary app with with questionable permissions. It can be used on a regular computer, where it appears as a standard webcam. However, in this mode, the camera fails to self-calibrate, and the images quickly become useless. [Dmytro] worked to hack around this, by figuring out a way to trigger calibrations and run the proper image corrections manually when using the camera without the smartphone app. He also explores techniques to improve the resolution of the thermal measurements made by the camera.
We’ve seen some other neat thermal camera hacks over the years. Video after the break.
[Thanks to Clint for the tip!]
By buying those Chinese IR cams you directly fund their reseach and development into technologies which in not so distant future may be used to bring injuries incompatible with life to our soldiers and civilians. Is it this hard to instead buy FLIR, Fluke, Testo or Chauvin Arnoux?
FLIR can get stuffed. They deliberately used ITAR to keep their prices high and their performance abysmal. If the chinese manufacturers hadn’t stepped up then there wouldn’t be anything decent on the market.
And “BUT TERR’SM” is a completely disingenuous statement. It’s no secret that so many of the groups you’re referring to were directly or indirectly funded and armed by the US themselves over decades. And it’s hardly behaving sanely now.
If it is true, then why US forces europeans to buy chinese thermal cameras with non-sense limitations on specs?
Buying these Chinese products is the only way to bring down to Earth prices of FLIR, Fluke and so on. I am afraid to imagine the prices of brand products without competition from China.
Does Greenland produce any IR cameras?
The sooner the better IMO
Wait until you find out where your microchips are made!
Seriously, though, tone the rhetoric down. Global trade is good for everyone. Proof is that it’s entered into voluntarily on both sides: everyone thinks they’re winning, and they’re right.
But aren’t FLIR and Fluke from this country that threatened to annex Canada and Greenland?
InfiRay and other Shenzhen specials are from the country that used T-55 tanks to turn about 300 students into a bloody mess, just because they dared to organize a non-violent protest against CCP corruption.
By comparision, our senile grandpa who’s shiptosting on Twitter might’ve been shocking at first but now everyone knows his game. He might be totally bluepilled and play a tough guy persona but still can’t get it up.
Well, US killed ~200k civilian in iraq just because they dared to live iraq…
“InfiRay and Xinfrared are all brands of Raytron Technology Co., Ltd.”
Raytron Technology Co., Ltd. “was founded on December 11, 2009 and is headquartered in Yantai, China.”
Look like Ukrainians are already running their own custom firmwares https://militarnyi.com/uk/articles/niyakogo-kytayu-ukrayinski-vyrobnyky-blyzki-do-samostijnogo-vyrobnytstva-fpv-droniv/ :
Both companies have one product in their assortment, namely analog thermal imaging cameras with a resolution of 256×192 px “SeekUAV-256” and “Kurbas-256”. Both products consist of the previously mentioned lens-matrix unit, which operates under the control of a microprocessor board and appropriate software.
The production of key technical elements in Ukraine is impossible due to the complexity and the need for colossal investments, so they focused on ensuring high-quality final assembly and developing their own software that would be able to better realize the potential of the system and meet the needs of the military.
“Other thermal imaging cameras have an unpleasant quality — they freeze for several seconds with a certain frequency. Understandably, pilots do not like this. This happens because of the so-called calibration shutter, which is triggered automatically — a design feature of all such thermal imagers. Due to the fact that we developed the Kurbas camera completely independently — we can control the operation of the shutter, simplifying the lives of pilots,” said Andriy Tagansky, General Manager of OddSystems.
That is, the low-level software itself provides full control over the operation of the camera elements. Another example is the implementation of the ability for the pilot to change the image contrast directly during the flight, which directly affects the probability of finding the target.
Thanks to the optimization of production and technical solutions, the Ukrainian manufacturer managed to create cameras that are competitive with Chinese analogues. This includes both certain technical advantages and cheaper products:
the retail price of “Kurbas-256” is 10 thousand hryvnias ($240), and when ordering from 500 pcs. – already 225 dollars. When increasing the volume to 5000 pcs. the price will drop to 6,000 hryvnias ($150).
a batch of “SeekUAV-256” cameras from 5 pcs. will cost 11 thousand hryvnias ($260), an order from 500 pcs. – already 190 dollars. A batch of 5000 pcs. will cost 5,900 hryvnias ($140) per unit.
For example, the cost of a comparable quality Chinese camera CADDX-256 ranges from $170-250 dollars in Ukraine.
Under current conditions, SeekUAV and Odd Systems are not competitors, since even at full load, by joint efforts, they can supply up to 10 thousand cameras per month. At the same time, according to drone manufacturers, the monthly import volume in the niche of thermal imaging cameras alone ranges from 20-60 thousand units.
However, in both cases, a key dependence on Chinese suppliers remains. SeekUAV is trying to change this situation by switching to an American component base and matrices with a resolution of 320×240 px. The cost of the new camera will increase by 50%, and its appearance is expected no earlier than next year, but this will allow diversifying supplies and bringing image quality to a much higher level.
Why no link to the project page?
https://dmytroengineering.com/content/projects/t2s-plus-thermal-camera-hacking
Thanks! We usually do that, but we have a crop of new writers and some editor must have missed it.
I went in and fixed it.