Extending the senses
Affordable thermal imaging coming onto the market opens up lots of practical and creative uses for this technology, but it also creates new security issues.
We've all seen night-vision equipment, ranging from the high-end equipment used by the military, and by professional wildlife photographers, to the relatively cheap security cameras which allow you to monitor premises in near darkness. Night vision cameras use image intensifiers to amplify very low light levels and are sensitive to the very edge of the infra-red spectrum, just outside the range of human vision. This should not be confused with thermal imaging though. A night vision camera does not detect the radiated heat which is deep into the infrared spectrum, such as the heat generated from the human body, or the heat of a boiling kettle.
True thermal imaging cameras, which see the patterns of heat created by objects, have long existed, but have always been very expensive specialised units. That is rapidly changing. The clearest example yet of the consumerisation of this technology is the Flir One, designed specifically for the iPhone5. Now costing less than £150, this device is the same size and shape as the iPhone5, and clips seamlessly to the front of the phone, turning it into an easy to operate powerful portable one-pass thermal imager which can mix thermal and visual images on the LCD screen, take photos and videos, and give you vision capabilities comparable to those we once marvelled at in the Predator movies.
These cameras have obvious uses in search and rescue, for example, for helping to locate people lost and possibly injured on moorland or mountains, and likewise for farmers hunting for lost animals. Biologists will find it useful for monitoring nocturnal creatures, as will police hunting for intruders who are trying to stay hidden. It will no doubt become more common in CCTV surveillance systems, but it is the more mundane uses that the affordable technology can be put to which really interests me.
At a time when energy is expensive, the companies which insulate houses could use thermal imaging to work out where the hotspots are in your roof, walls and windows, and plug the holes in your domestic insulation. Plumbers could use thermal imaging to check pipework for leaks whilst electricians might use it to check for unexpected hot spots indicative of damaged wiring. The mechanic servicing your car would be able to use thermal images to detect excessive heat-generating friction in mechanical components, or the integrity of your exhaust system. Once we extend the senses to be able to peer into the infra red, we open up so many possibilities.
For all the possible benefits though, there are also downsides to new technology. Security researchers have discovered that these thermal imaging systems are now so good that they can see the heat left by your finger tips on keypads. If you have a building or secure area where the door requires a four digit access code, the consumer-grade thermal imager is able to reveal which four buttons you pressed for up to one minute afterwards. It doesn't reveal the correct order of those digits of course, but for a four digit code there are only 24 possibilities that you need to try. Likewise, heat signatures can be left on the PIN terminals in supermarkets, or the keys on your keyboard. It may sound like something out of a James Bond movie, but in 2015 it is off-the-shelf technology.
25th August 2015
This article comes from the SKILLZONE email newsletter, published monthly since January 2008, and covering topics related to technology and the internet. All articles and artwork in the SKILLZONE newsletter are orignal content.