technical note

Thermal imaging:
how far can you see with it?
Often, the first question that people interested in buying a thermal imaging camera ask
is “How far can I see?” This is a very reasonable question to ask, but it defies any simple
answer. All FLIR Systems thermal imaging cameras are able to see the sun which is more
than 146 million kilometers away from Earth. But it would be totally wrong to say that all
FLIR Systems thermal imaging cameras can detect security threats at this distance. A FLIR PT-Series thermal imaging camera

Thermal imaging is a technology that - Detection: In order to detect if an object - Recognition: Recognizing an object is
enables detection of people and objects in is present or not, its critical dimension defined as seeing what type of object
total darkness and in very diverse weather needs to be covered by 1.5 or more it is. It means being able to make the
conditions. A typical application for thermal pixels. 1.5 pixels in a staring array is distinction between a person, a car,
imaging is border security, where most equivalent to 0.75 “cycles”, which is the a truck or any other object. In order
threats occur at night. Watchtowers spaced unit of system resolution originally used to recognize an object it needs to be
at 4km intervals or more have to be able in Johnson’s definition. subtended by at least 6 pixels across its
to detect threats at ranges up to 2km or critical dimension.
more to guarantee full coverage of the Range performances for SR-, F-, PT-, and outdoor D-Series with 320x240 pixels detector
border. Knowing how far you can see with
a thermal imaging camera and at which Detection, Recognition, Identification of Human Target
9 mm lens
distance you can detect a possible threat is
Detection approx. 205 m
Recognition approx. 52 m
Identification approx. 26 m Actual range may vary depending on camera
of the utmost importance. 13 mm lens Detection approx. 300 m
Recognition approx. 74 m
set-up, environmental conditions, user
Identification approx. 37 m
experience and type of monitor or display used.
19 mm lens Detection approx. 450 m Assumptions:
Recognition approx. 112 m
The distance you can see a given target Identification approx. 56 m 50 % probability of achieving objective at
specified distance given 2°C temperature
35 mm lens Detection approx. 780 m
with a thermal imaging camera is called Recognition approx. 190 m
Identification approx. 97 m
difference and 0.85 / km atmospheric
attenuation factor. A vehicle is 1.25 °C delta T.
the “range” in the thermal imaging industry. 50 mm lens Detection approx. 1.0 km
Recognition approx. 250 m
Identification approx. 128 m
To correctly determine the range of a 65 mm lens Detection approx. 1.45 km
Recognition approx. 370 m

thermal imaging camera requires some 100 mm lens

Identification approx. 170 m
Detection approx. 2.1 km

sophisticated modeling. There are many Recognition approx. 540 m

Identification approx. 270 m

variables to consider including the type

of thermal imaging camera you are using, 9 mm lens
Detection, Recognition, Identification of Vehicle with 2.3m critical dimension
Detection approx. 590 m

the type of lens you are using, the nature Recognition approx. 150 m
Identification approx. 74 m

and size of the object you want to detect, 13 mm lens Detection approx. 840 m
Recognition approx. 215 m
Identification approx. 108 m
the atmospheric conditions and the very 19 mm lens Detection approx. 1.3 km
Recognition approx. 330 m

definition of what it means to “see” a target. 35 mm lens

Identification approx. 165 m
Detection approx. 2.15 km
Recognition approx. 560 m
Identification approx. 280 m
50 mm lens Detection approx. 2.6 km
“Seeing” an object Recognition approx. 700 m
Identification approx. 350 m

To define what is meant by “seeing a target”, 65 mm lens

Recognition approx. 1 km
Detection approx. 3.9 km

Identification approx. 530 m

the so-called Johnson’s criteria can be used. 100 mm lens Detection approx. 5.3 km
Recognition approx. 1.5 km
John Johnson, a Night Vision & Electronic Identification approx. 760 m

Sensors Directorate scientist, developed

Range performances for F- and PT-Series with 640x480 pixels detector
criteria that relate to the effective range
of infrared cameras. Although developed
Detection, Recognition, Identification of Human Target
for the military (hence the use of the term 13 mm lens Detection approx. 390 m
Recognition approx. 95 m
“target” to refer to the object of interest), Identification approx. 47 m
25 mm lens Detection approx. 820 m
the Johnson criteria are widely used in the Recognition approx. 210 m
Identification approx. 104 m

commercial marketplace to characterize

Detection, Recognition, Identification of Vehicle with 2.3m critical dimension
thermal imaging systems. According to 13 mm lens Detection approx. 1,080 m

these criteria a distinction needs to be made Recognition approx. 275 m

Identification approx. 140 m

between degrees of “seeing” a target: 25 mm lens Detection approx. 2,2 km

Recognition approx. 580 m
Identification approx. 290 m
technical note

- Identification: This term is often used range. Long-range security applications pixels at a range of 2.1km. The conclusion
in the military sense of the word, which such as border security require quite small to be drawn from this example calculation
means seeing if someone is “friend or foe”. IFoVs, because the imaging systems have is that identification of a man at multi-km
In order to do this, the critical dimension to detect objects the size of a man at a ranges requires a lens in the 500mm focal
of the object in question needs to be distance of several kilometers away. It length range.
subtended by at least 12 pixels. should also be noted that the total field
of view scales inversely with focal length - Now take the case of an uncooled sensor,
These Johnson’s criteria give a 50% long lenses give small fields of view. This is which has inherently less sensitivity than a
probability of an observer discriminating the compromise: long lenses on cameras cooled sensor with comparable optics and
an object to the specified level. For trade longer range detection for reduced bigger pixels. A typical uncooled sensor has
example, an adult human being is total field of view. In other words, you can 25 micron pitch. This increased pixel size
roughly 1.8m by 0.5m in size. The “critical identify targets, but you need to know shortens the 500mm lens identification
dimension” of this man is 0.75m, according where to look for them in the scene, since range to 1.25 km. But more importantly,
to empirical fits to the statistical analysis the system is essentially looking through uncooled lenses in the 500mm focal length
of observers and thermal image data. a soda straw! As a result, infrared camera range are simply impractical because the
Consider an infrared camera system systems often have multiple focal length lenses have to have very low f/numbers
which has sufficient resolution such that lenses to enable rapid target detection in order to have thermal sensitivities
6 pixels in the image correspond to a with subsequent identification when the comparable to cooled camera systems. A
target critical dimension of 0.75 meters at system zooms in. 500mm uncooled lens with f/1.6 has an
1000 meters range. Furthermore, let us objective diameter of 313mm, which is
suppose that the camera sensor receives Consider a man at a range of 1km. The enormous and very expensive. The lenses
sufficient thermal contrast between the effective angle that he subtends is the can be so expensive that they negate
target and the background, i.e. a person critical dimension divided by the range, much of the cost saving gained from
against a cool nighttime landscape. Then which is 0.75m/1000m or 750 microradians using uncooled sensors over cooled ones.
the system has a reasonable probability of in angle. In order to properly identify the In fact, at this time the longest existing
recognition at 1000m range. man at this range with a thermal imaging commercial uncooled lens is 367mm long.
camera, we need a system that gives us 12 A 367mm lens combined with a 25 micron
FLIR Systems specifies how far you can pixels across 0.75 meters at 1000m. Note pitch uncooled camera gives a maximum
see with a thermal imaging camera by that in this context identification does not identification range of only 920 meters.
specifying at which distance our thermal mean identifying a particular individual,
imaging systems can detect a man-sized but rather making the distinction between The conclusion from this example is that
target in conditions that yield sufficient a man holding a rifle from a man holding extremely long range thermal imaging
thermal contrast. Depending on the a shovel, for example. A 500mm focal applications are best served by cooled
lens size, our infrared camera systems length lens combined with a camera camera systems. This is particularly true in
can detect human activity up to several sensor with 15 micron pixels gives an IFoV the midwave band in humid atmospheric
kilometers away. As the object that needs of 30 microradians. The number of pixels conditions.
to be detected increases in size, the on target is equal to the target angle
maximum detection range also increases. divided by the IFoV angle. Therefore, we Atmospheric conditions
will have 750 microradians divided by 30 Although thermal imaging cameras can
Focal length: an important parameter: microradians per pixel, or approximately see through total darkness, light fog, light
A critical parameter that affects how 25 pixels on target – exceeding the 12 rain and snow, the distance they can see is
far one can see with a thermal imaging pixel requirement for identification. affected by these atmospheric conditions.
camera is the focal length of the lens. The Even in clear skies, inherent atmospheric
focal length determines the instantaneous Cooled versus uncooled thermal absorption places limits on how far a
field of view (IFoV) of a camera system. imaging cameras particular infrared camera system can see.
This is the angular field of view of a single There is also a difference between how In essence, the farther an infrared signal
pixel – the smallest angle that can be far you can see with a cooled and with an must travel from the target to the camera,
resolved by the system, provided that uncooled thermal imaging camera. Cooled the more of that signal is lost along the
there is sufficient thermal contrast. camera systems are more expensive, way.
but generally have a longer range than
The IFoV then determines the distance at uncooled systems under many conditions. Rain and fog can severely limit the range of
which a target’s critical dimension subtends thermal imaging systems due to scattering
the required number of pixels to achieve A typical cooled camera has a 15 micron of light off of droplets of water. Fog
detection, recognition or identification. pixel pitch (spacing between pixel centers). is a visible aggregate of minute water
The longer the focal length of the lens, the A 500mm lens on this camera gives an droplets suspended in the atmosphere at
smaller the IFoV becomes, which translates IFoV of 30 microradians. Using the 0.75m or near the surface of the earth, reducing
into more pixels across a target at a fixed critical dimension, a man will subtend 12 horizontal visibility to less than 1km
 Uncooled
in many cases. It is created when the snow), and atmospheric conditions (clear 320 x 240 detector with
air temperature and the dew point of skies versus fog). It also depends on the
the air are nearly equal and sufficient specific camera and lens combination you
25 micron pitch and
condensation nuclei are present. There are choose. The applications engineers at FLIR 38 mm lens (19 mm lens
different types of fog, and some fogbanks Systems can help you to determine the with 2x doubler)
are denser than others because the water ranges at which you can detect various
droplets have grown bigger through targets in various conditions with thermal Pixels on target across height of man: 1.8 m
accretion. A thermal imaging camera will imaging camera systems.
33 m
have more difficulty seeing through these
dense types of fog, and its range will be Nomographs
reduced. The same goes for heavy rainfall An excellent way to estimate how far
and snow. Additionally, rain can reduce you can see a target with a thermal
contrast because it will cool the surfaces imaging camera is to use a nomograph.
of targets. Despite degraded performance A nomograph is a graphical calculator
in fog, rain and snow, thermal imaging which represents numerical relationships
cameras will still allow operators to see between variables such as focal length,
targets further than is possible with visible- range and the number of pixels on target.
light imaging systems. The following two nomographs (for
uncooled and cooled camera systems) 83 pixels
Range is affected by many variables are simplified models for estimating the
In summary, there is no easy answer to the range at which a man can be detected, 45 m 91 m
question “how far can I see with a thermal recognized or identified. These models do
imaging camera?” It depends on a large not include atmospheric effects or thermal
number of environmental and system contrast – they assume very high contrast
variables, including the nature of the target images acquired in clear conditions and
(parked vehicle versus running vehicle), can be considered to be upper limits on
the background (hot desert versus cold range based solely on geometry.

Example :
The Johnson Criteria assume that the critical dimension for a human being is 61 pixels 30 pixels
0.75 meters. To get DRI, you need 1.5 pixels, 6 pixels and 12 pixels across 0.75
meters in the object plane. That means: 137 m 182 m
1.5 pixels/0.75m = 2 pixels per meter
6 pixels/0.75m = 8 pixels/meter
12 pixels/0.75m = 16 pixels/meter
Let us assume a man is 1.8m by 0.5m. So the man should be covered by:

20 pixels 15 pixels

274 m 390 m

Detection = Recognition = Identification =

3.6 pixels by 1 pixel 14.4 pixels by 4 pixels 28.8 pixels by 8 pixels
You can see something You can see that a person You can see that the
is there. is there. person is holding a rifle.
10 pixels 7 pixels
Images only intented to represent the concept.
 100 mm lens
65 mm lens
35 mm lens
21.5 mm lens
19 mm lens
13 mm lens
9 mm lens

Nomograph:
uncooled 320 x 240 detector
with 25 micron pitch

Pixels across 0.75 m

critical dimension of
man-sized target
versus range

Nomograph:
1100 mm lens cooled 640 x 480 detector
735 mm lens with 15 micron pitch
490 mm lens
250 mm lens
Pixels across 0.75 m
critical dimension of
man-sized target
versus range

The FLIR Systems HRC-U or HRC-S

can detect potential threats at extremely long ranges.

Acknowledgement to Dr. Austin Richards Ph. D. for authoring the article and calculating the nomographs and to Mr. T. Hoelter for valuable input and advice.
TN_1108_0002_EN

More information about thermal imaging

cameras can be obtained from:

FLIR Commercial Systems B.V.

Charles Petitweg 21
4847 NW Breda
Netherlands
Phone : +31 (0) 765 79 41 94
Fax : +31 (0) 765 79 41 99
e-mail : flir@flir.com
www.flir.com