Why Security Leaders Should Deploy Thermal Long-Range Cameras

Thermal imaging cameras offer clear detection in darkness, bad weather, and visually obstructed areas, ensuring your property stays secure in any environment.

Last Updated:
October 4, 2024
| ~
4
min Read
By
Meg Moore
,
Marketing Writer
,
LVT

Talk about a plot twist. 

When Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer realized that mud, not his automatic assault rifle, deterred the invisible creature’s thermal sight scope in “Predator,” the film raced toward its explosive climax. The creature blew up, Dutch escaped, and scores of superfans understood the science—future cinematic applications—of thermal imaging.

Like the franchise’s four sequels, thermal imaging has improved on the original theme, especially for asset protection leaders charged with upgrading security plans. As the Dutch discovered, a thermal camera can keep watch in all conditions, unlike the human eye (and standard security cameras). 

Thermal imaging technology uses infrared radiation, or heat, to detect differences in temperature. This produces a colorful heat map, improving an object’s visibility in a low-light, pitch-black, or otherwise entirely dark environment. 

A long-range thermal security camera works in a variety of situations, including:

  • Extreme weather: From wildfires and hurricanes to blizzards and heavy fog, thermal cameras weather the storm and record regardless of the lighting conditions.
  • Search-and-rescue missions: Humans emit heat and light up the screen so first responders can find people in trouble more quickly.
  • Security operations: On the flip side of the security equation, criminals wait in the shadows. Thermal imaging cameras can bring their intentions, or bad actions, to light.

Lighting conditions affect traditional infrared day-to-night security cameras because dirt, water, and weather hazards can cause reflections. If that happens, the camera’s imaging capabilities and overall effectiveness as a deterrent are severely hindered.

LVT DELIVERS BLOCKBUSTER THERMAL IMAGING TECHNOLOGY

A standard security camera requires adequate lighting to capture useful footage, but even then, it’s not always easy to spot an intruder wearing the right camouflage. Low-light technology, such as thermal imaging and infrared, bypasses these conditions.

Most thermal cameras on the market only feature thermal capabilities, while most day/night cameras don't have thermal capabilities.

LiveView Technologies’ provides both. Its bispectral enterprise mobile security camera combines multiple sensors, both thermal and day/night, in one device and integrates pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) capabilities. This means asset protection teams have access to thermal and color images, which makes detection much easier and allows them to share solid evidence with law enforcement.

LVT Senior Product Manager Dave Baker said that bispectral LVT Units, with AI-powered analytics capabilities, deliver the best of both worlds in security camera technologies.

“Most bispectral cameras on the market are too large and draw too much power,” he said. “LVT’s bispectral line of thermal cameras is perfectly suited for mobile surveillance units because they are smaller, draw less power, and in turn, our clients experience considerably higher uptimes.” 

Here are three other benefits of deploying LVT’s bispectral cameras:

1. SUPERIOR DETECTION IN COMPLETE DARKNESS

Since thermal optic internet protocol (IP) cameras operate by detecting an object’s emitted heat, capturing images doesn’t require light. They function effectively in complete darkness, whereas day/night cameras require some level of ambient light or infrared illumination to produce usable images.

2. UNAFFECTED BY VISUAL OBSTRUCTIONS

Thermal cameras can detect heat signatures through smoke, light fog, storms, and other visual obstructions that typically thwart a day/night camera. In environments where visibility is low to impossible, LVT’s bispectral cameras provide reliable surveillance, despite adverse conditions. 

LiveView Technologies’ mobile security cameras are built to weather the toughest conditions. Municipal governments and private businesses deploy them to secure their properties before, during, and well after natural disasters because remote surveillance LVT Units:

  • Maintain security when the power grid goes out 
  • Use off-the-grid solar power and do not rely on Wi-Fi or hardwired power
  • Are rapidly mobilized and deployed, and can be repositioned strategically at a moment’s notice
  • Can be accessed remotely to monitor live feeds, review recorded footage, and manage alarms
  • Have an ingress protection (IP) rating of at least 54
  • Can withstand winds up to 60 mph
  • Use solar panels and backup smart generators 

3. IMMUNE TO GLARE AND FLARE

Glare, either from sunlight or headlights, can cause temporary “blindness” for day/night cameras. LVT’s thermal optic IP cameras consistently deliver clear images, even in bright light. 

TRUSTED TOOL FOR PERIMETER SURVEILLANCE

For Enel Green Energy, deploying LVT Units to help defend a hydropower site on the Merrimack River in Lowell, Mass., not only made economic sense for the company, but it paid off right away deterring potential vandals. 

“It was a Friday night, and I started getting these alerts on my phone. So, I checked it out,” the head of security said. “When I looked at the thermal streams, I saw some figures running through the fence. I turned on the 5500-lumens spotlight, activated the trespassing alert, and saw the figures quickly scurry away. Mission accomplished.”

Ready to learn why our customers trust LVT to protect billions of square feet of property around the globe? Contact our team today for a demo.

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