Thermal cameras put show goers in the hotseat
A
Flir Systems product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Jan 27, 2005
When Ford launched its new Mondeo seats with both cooling and heating ability, its exhibition display used two Flir Systems ThermoVision fixed mounted A20 thermal imaging cameras.
The exhibition business demands immediate impact.
Displays need to be arresting and marketing messages delivered quickly and concisely.
This is a field in which Imagination has considerable expertise.
Now Europe's largest independent design and communication company with offices in London, New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Stockholm, its clients include Ericsson, BT, Coca-Cola, Guinness and Ford Motor Company.
At last year's motor shows in Europe, Ford chose to launch the new Mondeo seats with both cooling and heating ability, and Imagination was set the task of designing a suitably eye-catching display.
The result was both innovative and highly effective.
Imagination chose to use thermal imaging to show the changing seat temperature and to provide an unusual but highly popular give-away.
To do this, Imagination used two Flir Systems ThermoVision fixed mounted A20 thermal imaging cameras.
The first, with a 45-degree lens was pointed at a pair of Mondeo seats from a distance of 1.7m and the other, fitted with a 25-degree lens, was positioned 10m above the seats in the lighting truss.
One seat had its heating elements on and the second, its cooling fans running.
Additionally, chilled air was fed to the cold seat to simulate the effect of the car's onboard air conditioning system.
People were encouraged to sit on the seats to feel the temperature difference.
The horizontal camera replayed their thermal image through a video reversing unit onto a 37in plasma screen.
The visitor was then offered the opportunity to capture this digital image and receive a print in credit card format via an Ethernet LAN.
The image from the overhead camera was replayed onto a pair of 20in LCD monitors to attract further visitors to the stand.
"People were fascinated to see a thermal image of themselves", commented Imagination's Technical Producer, Chris Pond.
"The fact that we gave 10,000 prints away at this show alone is a measure of the exhibit's success".
The original specifications for the camera were simple.
Imagination wanted a high resolution, small camera at an affordable price and, as Chris Pond confirmed: "The ThermoVision A20 met these criteria".
"We also chose the Ethernet version to allow us remote control of the settings".
This exhibit proved so successful that it is now in great demand.
It has been booked for the full European motor show circuit, a programme that occupies two years.
Packaged in a compact unit weighing less than 800g, the ThermoVision A20 is rugged, shock-resistant and suitable for discrete mounting albeit on an automated production line, test bench or exhibition stand.
Its size makes it ideal for applications where space is at a premium.
These attributes are complemented by an unprecedented choice of connectivity options.
The functionality of the ThermoVision A20 was a deciding factor for Imagination.
Pond concludes: "When we chose the ThermoVision we were also anticipating future use".
"We are currently looking at using one of the cameras as part of an exhibit to demonstrate the benefits of solar reflective windshields".
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