Seek Thermal MOSAIC Core S309SP: a user-friendly thermal camera to deliver images for non-high-performance applications

“The Seek Thermal MOSAIC Core S309SP appeared to be very easy to handle and test, thanks to its design and available tools provided by the manufacturer”. states Olivier Andrieu, PhD., Innovation Leader and System Architect at Piséo, part of Yole Group of Companies. “However, in the meantime, the sensor does not appear as best-in-class compared to what can be currently found for such commercialized camera cores.”

Fueled by multiple drivers, including the need for a large number of temperature measurements of people due to COVID-19 as well as surveillance, the market for infra-red thermal imaging cameras and modules is expanding at a rapid pace. Piséo’s partner Yole Intelligence expects an 8% CAGR from 2019 to 2025. Many new players, especially from Asia, have already started to disrupt the market.  In order to make appropriate choices, therefore, users, integrators, and sensor manufacturers need to be able to discriminate between marketed products based on accurate and independent assessments of their performance and features (benchmarks).
Joël Thomé, General Manager, Piséo, asserts:“Indeed, there is currently no international standard protocol for thermal camera performance testing available. This situation leaves purchasers of such systems with supplied datasheet values that may not always be right or may only provide partial information”.

In this dynamic ecosystem, Piséo, the independent innovation center specializing in the integration of advanced photonics technologies, investigates the disruptive thermal imaging technologies and evaluates the latest innovations.

As an independent Innovation Center, the company releases today a new technical report dedicated to an analysis of the performance of the Seek Thermal MOSAIC Core S309SP.
Carried out by a team of experienced optical and system engineers, this technical report relies on robust and comprehensive test protocols and thorough analyses of the test results. The outcome of this process is a set of typical performance indicators, such as responsivity, NETD, scene dynamic range, operability… as well as an assessment of the functionalities. Together, they make it possible for Piséo to develop its own benchmark procedure for thermal cameras, which enabled them to test independently the Seek Thermal Mosaic Core S309SP. 

What are the functionalities and uses of the Seek Thermal Mosaic Core S309SP? What is the optical architecture and design, as defined by Seek Thermal? What are the performance characteristics of the camera? Behind those technical characteristics, what is the market positioning of Seek Thermal’s product compared to existing solutions?
Piséo’s analysts invite you to discover Seek Thermal’s technical choices through an in-depth added-value analysis of its Mosaic Core camera.

For this report, Piséo’s experts use their own test protocols, software, and lab equipment, which includes a calibrated HGH black body and climate chamber able to perform tests at ambient temperatures ranging from -20°C (-4°F) up to 100°C (212°F).
After having performed their own characterization tests on many devices, analyzed manufacturers datasheets and discussed with them the reasons of the discrepancies between Piséo’s test results and their published values, it became clear to Piséo’s analysts that the performance values published were all based on different test protocols. It is, therefore, quite impossible for the purchaser to use the datasheets to select a thermal camera or core based on comparable performance values between products.
According to Grégory Duchêne, Sr. Optical Designer, Illumination, Detection and Imaging Systems at Piséo: “By doing so, we provide the market with independent, unbiased test results that de facto establish an international performance testing standard for thermal cameras, cores, and sensors”.

This Thermal Mosaic Core S309SP performance analysis report is the third one published by Piséo, fully dedicated to the performance analysis of commercialized products. Step by step, this advanced photonic center is enlarging its core expertise in this domain and becomes a reference for the evaluation and the development of photonic modules. And more analyses will come in the near future, with valuable and significant comparative analyses.
Piséo and its partners, Yole Group, will collaborate all year long to analyze in-depth thermal imaging cameras and deliver key results.
Stay tuned on i-Micronews.com!