By Josh Perry, Editor [email protected]
Chris Best, an applications engineer with Microchip Technology, Inc., recently wrote a guest column for Sensors Online that outlined the steps he took to build a low-cost, low-resolution thermal imaging camera with an eight-bit microcontroller.
This article outlines the steps for building an eight-bit thermal imaging camera. (Wikimedia Commons)
To build the camera, he used an infrared sensor from Panasonic, an LECD module from Varitronix, and an 8-bit microcontroller.
Best explained, “Infrared detection is performed using the Grid-EYE sensor. The Grid-EYE is an 8 x 8 pixel (64 total) infrared array sensor designed using Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) thermopile technology. The thermopile array consists of a series of free-standing thermocouples. Each thermocouple consists of two thin wires of different thermal materials. The two wires are joined together at one end, known as the hot junction, with the other ends connected to a heat sink.”
A difference in temperature between the two junctions creates an electromotive force (EMF) voltage that is measured and converted into temperature. The sensor absorbed infrared thermal energy, passed it through a silicon lens and then 64 sensing elements. The microcontroller reads the temperature data from the sensor and processes an image to be displayed on the LCD.
Read https://www.sensorsmag.com/components/how-to-build-eight-bit-thermal-imaging-camera to get the full description for building the eight-bit camera. Also, a full list of necessary components can be found at https://www.microchip.com/wwwAppNotes/AppNotes.aspx?appnote=en607467.
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