+86 18062115625

Onick Optics (wuhan) Co., Ltd., Japão

Notícias da Indústria

Home > News > Notícias da Indústria

What Are The Differences Between Infrared Thermal Imagers And Night Vision Devices?

  • Release time:2025-08-25
  • page views:

1. Different Applications

Infrared thermal imaging technology has applications in both military and civilian sectors, initially originating in the military and gradually transitioning to civilian use. Infrared night vision devices are military night vision devices that utilize photoelectric conversion technology.

2. Different Functions

In civilian use, they are generally called thermal imagers, primarily used in R&D, industrial inspection, and equipment maintenance. They are also widely used in fire prevention, night vision, and security. In layman's terms, a thermal imager converts invisible infrared energy emitted by an object into a visible thermal image. The different colors on the thermal image represent the different temperatures of the measured object. Night vision devices are night sights with an image intensifier as their core component. Instead of illuminating the target with an infrared searchlight, they use light reflected from the target under weak illumination. This light is intensified by the image intensifier on a fluorescent screen, creating a visible image that can be perceived by the human eye, allowing for observation and aiming.

3. Different Operating Principles

Infrared thermal imagers utilize infrared thermal imaging technology to detect infrared radiation from an object and, through signal processing and photoelectric conversion, convert the temperature distribution of the object into a visible image. Infrared thermal imagers precisely quantify the actual heat detected, creating a real-time image of the entire object in the form of a surface. This allows accurate identification of areas of heating or suspected faults. The phased array on the infrared detector element scans the focused light. The detector element generates a highly detailed temperature pattern, known as a thermogram.


Core Working Principle: The Source of Essential Difference

Infrared Thermal Imager

Core Principle: Based on thermal radiation detection, it does not rely on any visible light. All objects with temperatures above absolute zero (-273.15°C) emit infrared radiation. A thermal imager captures this invisible radiation signal through an infrared detector and then, through a signal processing system, converts it into a grayscale or pseudo-color image (e.g., red and yellow indicate hot areas, blue and black indicate cold areas).

Key Feature: The image reflects the object's temperature distribution, not its visual appearance. It functions even in complete darkness (such as late at night or in confined spaces) or in environments with thick smoke or fog.

Night Vision Devices

Core Principle: Based on visible light enhancement, it essentially "amplifies weak light signals." Its core component is the image intensifier tube, which amplifies weak natural light (such as starlight or moonlight) or artificial light (such as distant lights) by thousands or even tens of thousands of times, converting it into a visible image, allowing users to clearly see objects in low-light environments.

Key feature: It relies on ambient light (even if it's extremely weak). In completely dark environments (such as underground caves or sealed black boxes), it cannot form an image and requires an infrared fill light (this essentially uses the infrared light from the fill light, which is different from the principle of a thermal imager).


Core Application Scenarios for Infrared Thermal Imagers

Security Monitoring: Detecting intruders outside fences and suspicious individuals hiding in bushes in dark environments at night;

Industrial Inspection: Detecting circuit overheating in the power industry, troubleshooting high-temperature bearings in the machinery industry, and detecting hollow walls and leaks (temperature differences) in the construction industry;

Medical: Temperature screening (rapid temperature measurement during the pandemic), and auxiliary diagnosis of skin diseases (localized temperature abnormalities);

Outdoor Rescue: Searching for lost people in forests and wilderness at night (where body temperature differs significantly from ambient temperature), or searching through thick smoke for victims trapped in fires.


Core Application Scenarios for Night Vision Devices

Outdoor Observation: Hunting (to clearly identify prey in low-light environments), birdwatching (observing bird activity at dusk/dawn), and astronomical observation (to assist in identifying details in star maps);

Civil Security: Nighttime surveillance of homes and courtyards (requires weak moonlight or streetlights, as imaging more closely matches human visual habits);

Military: Individual night patrols and vehicle driving (relying on low-light conditions; infrared fill light can be used to mitigate short periods of darkness).


If you want to know more about fusion night vision goggles, infrared thermal imaging scopes, etc., please feel free to contact us.


We use cookie to improve your online experience. By continuing to browse this website, you agree to our use of cookie.

Cookies

Please read our Terms and Conditions and this Policy before accessing or using our Services. If you cannot agree with this Policy or the Terms and Conditions, please do not access or use our Services. If you are located in a jurisdiction outside the European Economic Area, by using our Services, you accept the Terms and Conditions and accept our privacy practices described in this Policy.
We may modify this Policy at any time, without prior notice, and changes may apply to any Personal Information we already hold about you, as well as any new Personal Information collected after the Policy is modified. If we make changes, we will notify you by revising the date at the top of this Policy. We will provide you with advanced notice if we make any material changes to how we collect, use or disclose your Personal Information that impact your rights under this Policy. If you are located in a jurisdiction other than the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland (collectively “European Countries”), your continued access or use of our Services after receiving the notice of changes, constitutes your acknowledgement that you accept the updated Policy. In addition, we may provide you with real time disclosures or additional information about the Personal Information handling practices of specific parts of our Services. Such notices may supplement this Policy or provide you with additional choices about how we process your Personal Information.


Cookies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you access most Websites on the internet or open certain emails. Among other things, Cookies allow a Website to recognize your device and remember if you've been to the Website before. Examples of information collected by Cookies include your browser type and the address of the Website from which you arrived at our Website as well as IP address and clickstream behavior (that is the pages you view and the links you click).We use the term cookie to refer to Cookies and technologies that perform a similar function to Cookies (e.g., tags, pixels, web beacons, etc.). Cookies can be read by the originating Website on each subsequent visit and by any other Website that recognizes the cookie. The Website uses Cookies in order to make the Website easier to use, to support a better user experience, including the provision of information and functionality to you, as well as to provide us with information about how the Website is used so that we can make sure it is as up to date, relevant, and error free as we can. Cookies on the Website We use Cookies to personalize your experience when you visit the Site, uniquely identify your computer for security purposes, and enable us and our third-party service providers to serve ads on our behalf across the internet.

We classify Cookies in the following categories:
 ●  Strictly Necessary Cookies
 ●  Performance Cookies
 ●  Functional Cookies
 ●  Targeting Cookies


Cookie List
A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.

Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.

Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

How To Turn Off Cookies
You can choose to restrict or block Cookies through your browser settings at any time. Please note that certain Cookies may be set as soon as you visit the Website, but you can remove them using your browser settings. However, please be aware that restricting or blocking Cookies set on the Website may impact the functionality or performance of the Website or prevent you from using certain services provided through the Website. It will also affect our ability to update the Website to cater for user preferences and improve performance. Cookies within Mobile Applications

We only use Strictly Necessary Cookies on our mobile applications. These Cookies are critical to the functionality of our applications, so if you block or delete these Cookies you may not be able to use the application. These Cookies are not shared with any other application on your mobile device. We never use the Cookies from the mobile application to store personal information about you.

If you have questions or concerns regarding any information in this Privacy Policy, please contact us by email at . You can also contact us via our customer service at our Site.