FLIR SYSTEMS' PATHFIND1R Originally developed for military use, the PathFindIR
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thermal imaging system is now available for civilian use, and is typically installed on vehicles that work in quarries and mines and other areas where there is low-level light and where there are risks of a truck/ pedestrian incident.
All objects generate an infra-red signature. Metal holds heat longer than wood, while human beings tend to generate a sign if cant amount of heat, albeit normally at a constant temperature.
The PathFindIR's small, infra-red thermal imaging camera is usually mounted somewhere around the grille of the truck, just above the front bumper. It weighs just 360g and takes up very little room — on our test tractor it fitted neatly next to the front cab mounts.
It sends signals through to a BE-870FM seven-inch flatscreen monitor fixed on the dashboard in much the same way as a conventional reversing camera. Indeed, the same screen can display both video and infra-red (IA) signals.
The 12V system can operate between -40°C and +80°C. The camera has a 36-degree forward viewing angle and can withstand being pressure-washed, too.
Barry Childs, an installation engineer for Brigade, explains: "It's really no different to fitting a normal camera in that it uses all the standard connections. You can wire it up to be triggered when reverse is selected, too.
"For example, you could have the PathFindIR on the front and a normal TV on the rear. A driver can adjust the brightness and contrast of the infra-red signal on the screen as they would with a normal reversing camera.' Contact: www.brigade-electronics.com