FLIR Systems, Inc. announced today the release of two new cameras.

The FLIR A400 and FLIR A700 cameras are the latest addition to the lineup.

The FLIR A400 and FLIR A700 camera models are probably the most significant technology updates to FLIR’s lineup of thermography cameras to date. The target market for the FLIR A400 and FLIR A700 are primarily industrial automation and remote monitoring applications. This camera platform has been design from the ground up and comes loaded with all kinds of useful features. A slew of configuration options allow customers to select their preferred feature set and therefore cost optimize their selection.

Each camera model can be configured at factory as either a thermal machine vision camera or as a thermal smart camera. This is achieved by selecting either the image streaming configuration or the smart sensor configuration. A firmware change performed, prior to shipping.

The image streaming configuration is suitable for more complex applications which require thermal imaging software running on a PC. In this configuration, the FLIR A400 and FLIR A700 simply streams a 16-bit, temperature linear images to the host PC. The physical interface used for this is a Gigabit Ethernet connection. The logical layer is based on the world-wide machine vision protocol standard GeniCAM.

GeniCAM make it possible to integrate the FLIR A400 and FLIR A700 with any standard machine vision software supporting this protocol.

For applications that benefit from an on camera decision making, the FLIR A400 and FLIR A700 can be configured with the smart sensor application from factory. This ‘app’ turns the camera into a full featured thermal smart camera with web interface. This eliminates the need for software running on a PC and greatly simplifies the system architecture.

With the smart sensor configuration, the user can configure numerous regions of interest, using the line, circle/oval, rectangle and polygon tools. Each region of interest will make decisions in parallel to other regions, based on the configured evaluation criteria. A standard web browser is all that is needed to configure the smart camera as well as to monitor the status of the inspection, if so desired.

The body of the FLIR A400 and the FLIR A700 are identical. There are industrial connectors on the backside of the camera for power & I/O, GigE Ethernet, Communications as well as a Wifi Antenna connector. All connections are for rugged, industrial use (IP67).

The Wifi feature is also an add-on option and allows for a compressed stream (lossless) via a wireless connection. Both cameras also allow for compressed streaming, using H.264/MPEG4/MJPEG formats. The FLIR A400 as well as the FLIR A700 are capable of streaming on two different video channels simultaneously. This allows the user to stream visible video from the built-in day light camera in parallel to streaming thermal images. Or alternatively, stream uncompressed temperature linear thermal video to a host PC for image processing, while providing a compressed stream to a video management system software (VMS).

With the FLIR A400 and FLIR A700, FLIR is combining the capabilities of a surveillance camera with that of machine vision smart camera. To round things up, both cameras offer additional industrial communications protocols, such as EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP, and MQTT. One additional feature worth noting is that the camera can function either as a ModBUS Server or ModBUS Client. This allows the camera to either control remote I/O devices on its own, or a PLC to query the camera for temperature readings and alarm conditions.

“I am extremely pleased and excited about the release of the FLIR A400 and FLIR A700 cameras. FLIR has certainly listened to what the market needs are and really delivered a new camera platform that is packed to the brim with useful features. This puts FLIR far ahead of any competitor out there for some time to come!”,

adds Markus Tarin, President & CEO, MoviTHERM