Seek's CompactPRO thermal camera works with iOS and Android
Seek Thermal has taken the wraps off its new CompactPRO, a thermal camera for use with Android smartphones and the iPhone. The camera is said to offer professional-grade quality at a price point that is within the reach of most consumers and small companies. As with other thermal cameras, the device features a thermal sensor array that measures temperatures — in this case, from as low as -40F to as high as 626F.
The CompactPRO thermal camera features a 320 x 240 sensor able to read 76,800 pixels of data. The camera can focus as close to something as 15 centimeters; the lens has a wide field of view, as well. The camera itself is small at 1 x 1.75 x 1-inches, and is said to have low power usage, allowing it to run for more than four hours on a charge.
The camera plugs directly into the user's smartphone; any images taken with it are saved to the device's storage, where they can then be accessed and shared like any other photo. Seek says it has a new mobile app available in the Google Play Store and iTunes, which features a "human-centered" design. The app offers a bunch of features, including the ability to choose the thermal level you want to see, different color palettes like gray scale and low-contrast, set a 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio, and seven user modes.
Seek Thermal's Vice President of Global Marketing Tracy Benson said:
High performance thermal imaging tools used to be expensive, difficult to carry, and primarily used by few people in large industrial facilities. It is one of the most important sensing technologies that can prevent costly damages, increase productivity, and help avoid dangerous situations in hundreds of applications. If we can make it more affordable to find problems faster and easier with high performance imaging quality in portable size devices, we are succeeding at our mission. Our aim is to fit everyone's budget and put smart tools into the hands of more people who can really use it.
The camera is available for $499 USD.