In the modern world, thermal imaging is a technology that is increasingly being used for detecting an assortment of conditions; from detecting leaks in any equipment to diagnosing injuries and illnesses. Almost all objects and people emit infrared radiation, which thermal imaging can detect. Till now, thermal imaging technology has been used in thermal imaging cameras in mainly technical fields. Thermal Cameras are used in widespread applications ranging from law enforcement, outdoors, commercial trades and even fire fighting. Thermal Cameras are being used for detecting any air-leak, electrical short or missing insulation when dealing in commercial trades as well as being used for outdoor shooting and hunting where heat signatures of animals and people are detectable. Additionally, it is also used as part of law enforcement to detect assailants in outdoor spaces. Infrared Thermal cameras are also used by fire-fighters to compare the heat maps and find hotspots when fighting fire. This, however, has started to change, with the introduction of specific Thermal camera Apps. With the technology now available in the palm of a user, several thermal camera apps are available in Play Store and Appstore - available for free. These Apps are some of the best, most accessed applications on both Android and iOS Operating systems. Below we have listed ten of the best Infrared Thermal Camera Apps available at Play Store and Apple’s Appstore.
The Radiation and IR Camera Detector is an app designed for detecting infrared rays and radiation emitted from electronic devices such as mobile phones, computers, cameras and TV remotes to name a few. This app has two main functions: The radiation meter and the infrared rays’ detector.
The Radiation meter feature can detect the electromagnetic field intensity, radiation and other harmful rays such as Alpha, Beta & Gamma. The App uses the phone’s magnetic sensor to work. The Infrared Rays Detector detects infrared rays emitted from electronic devices.
Some standout features of this app include radiation detection and the detection of harmful rays such as Beta and Gamma. Additionally, this app also lets the user to detect and view the red light emitted from hidden camera devices anywhere in a room. By running this app, users can also test the phone sensors of different Android phone devices.
This App is a viewer application designed specifically for the external FLIR One camera as well as the Cat S60® Smartphone. It’s easy to use and comes in both Android and iOS versions. It harnesses FLIR’s MSX technology, which uses two cameras. The App displays an overlay of a visible light image along with the thermal signature, every time someone takes a photo or a video. This app is ideal for FLIR users.
The App comes with a few rich features such as an original SDK MSX mode, along with on-screen temperature function. It also supports manual gamma regulation of the colour scale of pictures, as well as coming to a Lepton 3 Sensor resolution of 160x120. It has an added option for FLIR Tools Integration. The app has received positive reviews with some users complimenting its user-friendly-ness.
Thermal Night vision is an App that works quite like a heat vision goggle. Besides producing superior quality images, the app works with a luminance boosting algorithm responsible for boosting the brightness of a particular image. With a host of positive reviews on both the Play Store as well as the Appstore, it is one of the most used thermal camera apps of its kind. Users can also directly upload their clicked pictures on to several social media platforms.
One of the standout a feature of this app is that is works with a special luminance boosting algorithm. Other useful features include a Flashlight as well as Live Camera view. The App is capable of producing high resolution images with adjustable brightness and light sensitivity features.
Seek Thermal is an App which is described as the “best way to experience and visualise thermal energy”. In other words, this app provides users with the ability to quickly and accurately detect, measure, visualise or inspect thermal energy, using a smartphone or a tablet. The app has won many accolades such as being featured in more than 500 Global press articles this year, being featured as the Best of the Best New Products by Field & Stream and the best Product of the Year by Popular Science and This Old House.
Seek Thermal has an easy to use navigation system providing users with multiple colour palette and viewing mode options. Users can use the app to quickly and accurately inspect, diagnose and then assess the source of the disturbance. It allows users to examine any object in pitch darkness, working through smog and thick smoke.
It should be noted that some of the advanced features is not available for certain entry-level Compact or CompactXR models such as Emissivity and Span &Level.
IR Hidden Camera Detector is probably one of the most useful apps for people concerned about their privacy. Hidden Cameras and similar devices emit infrared radiations that cannot be detected with the normal eye. The App is best when used in an inspection of a suspected room here hidden cameras might be installed. Users have to just move their phone to observe any unusual magnetic activity that the app detects, which may be emitted from a hidden camera.
IR Hidden Camera Detector comes with a host of useful features such as a spy camera detector, an infrared camera detector, an easy to use intuitive interface and special camera filters to make the experience exciting. With regular updates, this app is one of the most positively reviewed free apps on the Play Store.
This is another efficient app for people concerned with their own privacy. The App enables users to check for any tell-tale signs that would help to spot a hidden camera, spy camera or any other infrared device. Using the app is as simple as selecting the appropriate option in the app and looking for the white light to appear on screen. This app uses the magnetic sensors available in almost all smartphones, using it for detecting magnetic activities in the user’s vicinity. The App makes a beep sound whenever the phone comes across any object with an electromagnetic field.
This app comes with some of the standard features such as a well-designed, intuitive, user-friendly interface which even small children can learn in no time. Developers provide users with free and frequent updates as well.
As the name suggests, this App can detect the presence of hidden cameras and CCTVs in the user’s vicinity. The App is perfect for anyone who is travelling or going to unknown places which may be fitted with hidden cameras or a CCTV. It can easily detect the magnetic signatures of devices that help them to find any hidden camera which might be installed without the user’s knowledge. The App is provided with regular updates from its developers to ensure bugs are fixed in a timely manner.
Thus, the hidden camera detector app provides a handful of useful features to its user bases, such as a separate spy camera detection feature, a separate hidden camera device feature and multiple other options for detecting different devices. The App also comes with added tips and tricks for newer users to get the hand of it.
The Thermal Camera HD Effect Simulator is a simulator app for a user’s smartphone camera. It converts a user’s ordinary camera into a simulation of a thermal camera. The App can generate views which are similar to vision using a hardware thermal camera, in real time. As a result, it generates a very simulated but believable view, similar to a real thermo-graphic camera. It should be remembered that unlike some of the other apps mentioned in this section, this application is merely a simulator, as it does not detect real heat maps of objects thorough the phone’s camera.
Thermal Camera HD effect simulator comes with a live thermal power amplifier, with no camera latency to effectively take pictures in real-time. The app uses a three pixel lamination detection algorithm, with three gradient mal colour schemes provided.
Thermo Visio is an application that converts a smartphone camera into a thermal image camera, provided the necessary hardware sensors are available on the phone. The App requires a minimum Android 2.3 for audio communication and Android 3.1 with USB Host Mode Supported. As of this day, the app has been tested on some of the world’s most popular Android devices such as Zopo C2, Samsung Galaxy S4 (i9500, A/ALS/USB), Samsung Galaxy (i9100P, USB), Samsung Galaxy S (i9000 A/ALS), and LG P500 (A/ALS). It has several positive user reviews on the Play Store.
ThermoVisio provides an easy to use interface along with a detailed manual for first-time users. The app displays thermal images that are superimposed over the picture taken by the normal camera. It has temperature displays for minimum, maximum and average, with changeable temperature units. Temperature readouts can be read out using a movable pointer.
Night Mode Camera is an easy to use, non-complicated program, allowing night vision capabilities on a user’s smartphone. It allows users to click photos and videos in complete pitch darkness. All photos taken are characterised by a shade of green, distinguishing all pictures which are created with the help of night video devices. It has a very user-friendly interface and functions just like any other photo creating application. This is a free application for Android users. This app is useful for users who go out on frequent outdoor trips and want to use their camera in low-light environments.
Night Mode Camera uses the lowest luminosity available without using any additional appliance. It supports low light photos and video recordings. It has a powerful feature that allows it to work with an 8x zoom. Users can also easily upload their pictures to famous social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
There are several such free infrared Thermal Camera Apps available in both the Play Store as well as the Appstore. Almost all of them are free, even though there are some apps where users must pay a subscription fee.