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Non-Contact IR Thermometer — Parallax Forums

Non-Contact IR Thermometer

ercoerco Posts: 20,256
edited 2010-07-08 15:50 in Robotics
Has anyone tried one of these as a robot sensor to look for a human (or wall furnace!) in a cool location? Obviously very directional and much faster response than a PIR sensor.·Robot could spin slowly in place to scan·(probably turn, stop, turn) and look for a narrow band of·heat. Obviously works better in cooler locations. Could disable laser for safety, I·think that's just a sighting device for handheld use.

Any thoughts or user experience?

·http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310230729990

TT1610_01.jpg

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·"If you build it, they will come."

Comments

  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191
    edited 2010-07-06 16:57
    erco,

    For $40 it would be fun to play with just to see. You are the e-bay master!

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    Whit+


    "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2010-07-06 17:12
    Of course, Harbor Fright (yeah, I know) has 'em for $30!
    http://www.harborfreight.com/non-contact-laser-thermometer-96451.html

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    ·"If you build it, they will come."
  • al1970al1970 Posts: 64
    edited 2010-07-07 07:01
    Hi:

    I played around a little with type of senser. The reading will drop off fast after about a foot.· At about 3 ft. it gets hard to tell if it would be a person or a warm wall. The big problem is, they don't have a serial output. So unless you want to·hook up a cam with software to read the LCD; they really of no value.

    Al
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,934
    edited 2010-07-08 06:34
    you can actually do thermal imaging with the Harbor Freight units. Check out this thread:

    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=907553

    and this thread:

    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=907557

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    Andrew Williams
    WBA Consulting
    PowerTwig Dual Output Power Supply Module
    My Prop projects: Reverse Geo-Cache Box, Custom Metronome, Micro Plunge Logger
  • Spiral_72Spiral_72 Posts: 791
    edited 2010-07-08 15:01
    You might check back with Harbor Freight.... I swear they just sold these in the postal-mail catalog for $20


    Mine updates about once per second possible a little less. When you release the trigger it holds the last temp then shuts off after maybe 15 seconds. It seems to have about a 1" sensing circle at about 3ft and appears to be fairly accurate. Bodies through clothes generally run about 83-86 degrees, so as long as the ambient air is cooler than that you'd be fine. Skin is generally about 89 degrees depending..... if the bot / sensor is low to the floor, I'm not sure what the temp is through jeans of shoes.....

    It seems to be very light on batteries too. I don't use it daily, but I've never replaced the battery far as I know in 8yrs.

    Maybe that'll help you decide.


    Oh, my unit is not Harbor Freight..... hopefully the above will be relevant to the HF units.

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    "puff"...... Smile, there went another one.

    Post Edited (Spiral_72) : 7/8/2010 3:18:27 PM GMT
  • lardomlardom Posts: 1,659
    edited 2010-07-08 15:50
    Thermal imaging cameras (flir) are fairly expensive. Phil Pilgrim has made some progress in this area. Hanno Sander has made a lot of progress in computer vision. If thermal imaging is possible with the propeller Phil and Hanno will probably lead the way. (Most of you know I am still fairly new to this so I am just adding my 2 cents.)

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