Omega’s TI-125 Digital Thermal Camera Capable of More than R&D and Industrial Applications

The TI-125 is designed for measurement, detection, and sampling tasks for R&D and industrial functions, but can also be utilized for COVID-19 applications as well. (Image credit: Omega)

Omega designed its T-120 Series of thermal imaging cameras for research and development and industrial applications as a solution that can handle a myriad of measurement, sampling, and detection tasks over a wide area of operations. Compared to other thermal imaging systems on the market, the TI-120 Series allows for continuous sampling tests, including those for trend analysis, reliability testing, and destructive testing, where others are limited in dynamic range and versatility. This is great for real-time monitoring of people’s temperature. More on that later.

The TI-125 is outfitted with an IR imaging sensor that offers a resolution of 320 X 240p with a temperature range of -20°C to +650°C (-4°F to +1202°F). The sensor uses an FPA (Focal Plane Array) uncooled microbolometer for thermal detection with thermal sensitivity of 1.27mRad, D:S 787:1 with a standard lens. It also features 8X continuous digital zoom, automatic noise calibration, and offers a myriad of correction settings for reflected background temperature, relative humidity, ambient temperature, and measuring distance.

The TI-120 Series can be employed in a myriad of industries, including automotive to reconcile the thermal behavior of components with their standard performance, the electronics industry for infrared thermography and temperature distributions, and the plastics industry to efficiently control die casting and extrusion. Moreover, they offer portability and can be used in the field, utilizing an app for data capturing and continuous analysis of the thermal spectrum.

The TI-125 provides a fully-radiometric small thermal video stream and the ability to instantly share images and video via required channels, making it ideal for equipment diagnostic tasks, and feature up to 10-hours of battery life, allowing them to function long-term without interruption. The camera is also used in conjunction with a smartphone, allowing for a touchscreen interface and online operation. It also allows the camera to record up to 1,000 frames of fully radiometric video and capture temperature change processes in real-time with a user-defined sampling rate (up to 5 frames per second).

The thermal image analysis app allows users to set the emissivity of each sub-region to provide an accurate temperature measurement of different materials. (Image credit: Omega via manual download)

I also used the Omega TI Analyzer to see the temperature of the Kangaroo Mobile PC I used for this project. It was pretty hot after about an hour of use! (Image credit: Me)

Advanced app features allow uses to set the transmissivity, test distance, and the emissivity of each sub-region on different materials for higher temperature accuracy. The TI-125 thermal camera can also scan equipment QR codes and auto-tag the thermal images, and share the data via company channels or social media, including Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Beyond the app, the camera can also be used with AnalyzIR to record complete radiometric thermal video, with each frame of the video stream preserving the original temperature of each pixel. Users can then pick up any frame of the image, save it as a fully radiometric thermal image, and export them as a CSV file storing the original temperature of each pixel.

My setup. 100% mobile PC, screen, and power source. (Image credit: Me)

For this project, I used the TI-125 with a full desktop PC running Windows 10. To keep everything portable, I used a (now defunct) Infocus Kangaroo mini PC, which has an onboard battery that gives a few hours of mobile use. I used a 7” portable display, USB hub and an external battery for the screen. I didn’t have much time to mount everything in a handy compact case, but I could see it was possible.

I was interested in its use in food applications, mainly if the food is cooked to a proper temperature or not. Or if something is too hot for children before they even get it. I heated up water to a scary point for this test. I remember reading that water inside a porcelain cup can be superheated, and it could explode at temps over the boiling point! I did not achieve Mythbusters level of superheating here. As you can see in the second picture, the water didn’t even reach the 212 F needed for that to happen.

Water heating test. (Image credit: Me)

As mentioned earlier, the TI-125 thermal camera is a useful tool for R&D and industrial applications, but it’s the ability to capture and analyze temperature data in real-time that allows it to be utilized as another device to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Thermal cameras have been instrumental in the early detection of the virus, allowing medical professionals to quickly identify and isolate those who have become infected since it’s onset.

All the pictures I took for this test was done entirely mobile. I had everything in a messenger bag except for the screen and the camera. My original plan was to show some videos and pictures of people in real-time as I walked down a street. ZERO people were OK with me doing this. So, take my word for it… it would work as a personal temperature awareness device—a way to avoid sick people, if you come across them.

The following pictures are of my son and me. The only people OK with having pictures taken. 

Thermal imaging has helped to prevent the Coronavirus from spreading by identifying persons in high-risk areas, such as airports, malls, and other areas where crowds gather. (Image credit: Me)

Thermal imaging systems have been deployed around the globe since the virus began to spread earlier this year, with China utilizing thermal cameras at public transports stations throughout the country back in late March/early April. Their detection system focuses on passenger’s faces and triggers an alarm if the temperature threshold hits 37⁰C and above, which can be done from several meters away. Engineers and medical professionals have even turned to robots to help stem the spread, with surprising results.

Large corporations, companies, and even small businesses are also employing thermal cameras, along with social distancing and mask-wearing, to help curb the pandemic by detecting elevated temperatures in employees and visitors. Omega is one of those companies that have deployed thermal measures to screen for employees who may be infected. The company has had some confirmed outbreaks in its US and UK facilities, and have deployed screening measures to help keep its employees safe.

Insert YouTube video here- https://youtu.be/UV4jRmpUZ9g

While the TI-125 thermal camera can help identify those with high body heat due to COVID-19, Omega has released a new thermal camera capable of analyzing groups. The TI-120GTS (in the video above) is a group temperature screening thermal imaging system that also incorporates facial recognition, which features an adjustable threshold with visual and audio alarms that makes it easy to identify higher than average temperatures.

The camera uses integrated AI to outline each face in a group, even while they’re in motion. It overlays each identity with a colored square that shows their body temperatures. The TI-120GTS has an effective range between 2.6 and 10.5 feet and has a millisecond response time for thermal identification, which can distinguish between a person and a cup of coffee. To that end, the TI-125 and TI-125GTS offer perfect solutions for R&D, industrial, and medical applications, and can be utilized to measure and test materials with excellent accuracy and efficiency.

Dog!

These two pictures show another exciting use of the camera. The bright spots are birds lurking in some shrubbery. Managing pests in the 21^st century! I would be very interested in using the camera in this way on a nature hike. You could spot all sorts of animals this way! Like having supervision.

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