High resolution lenses for machine vision — standard and custom lens design
Infrared Technologies Make CCTV Cameras Function
High Resolution Lenses for machine vision, instrumentation, inspection and vibration-sensitive applications. Standard and custom hi-res lens assemblies.
Chances are you’re under video surveillance with CCTV (closed circuit television) camera technology when you’re in your car, shopping in a grocery store or shopping mall or in a parking lot or parking garage. These cameras are also installed in airports, hospitals, traffic signals and other high traffic areas in need of additional security. Consider too that CCTV technologies are perfect for use by wildlife professionals for use with wireless cameras to record the movements of animals in the wild.
In the past, closed circuit television cameras were unable to perform their duties once night fell because they didn’t have night vision. With the enhancements in infrared technologies though, these CCTV cameras are now equipped with infrared illuminators. Infrared illuminators draw in more ambient light than do regular cameras and are able to produce images in low light situations or in some cases, even in total darkness.
Most infrared equipped CCTV cameras record only in black and white in low- or no-light conditions but may record in color during times of illumination. The range of view for a CCTV camera equipped with an infrared illuminator is limited. A day/night CCTV camera is not the same as an infrared illuminated camera in that day/night cameras don’t record in zero light while infrared illuminated cameras rely on the infrared spectrum to capture images. A “true” infrared camera as opposed to an infrared illuminator camera uses a micro bolometer, which is a sensor inside the camera that captures the light from various regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, different than the ones our eyes can pick up. The true infrared camera does not depend on ambient light in order to operate, these are the technologies used in night vision goggles.
Advances in infrared technology allow for full spectrum infrared cameras to be integrated with closed circuit television cameras and because all warm-blooded animals emit heat, these cameras are ideal for use as a security system. In situations with zero level light, the infrared camera can still pick up the non-visible light from a heat signature from an object in the light of sight of the camera. The ability to capture images at night without the need for ambient light is a great deterrent for theft and a boon to the security system itself. The cameras that pick up and monitor temperature fluctuations are ideal in industrial situations in which the temperature of pipes or the liquids flowing through them need to be monitored continuously.
Universe Optics offers consultation on custom lens design or may have customized lenses suitable for infrared camera technologies.