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Thermal Imaging for Smart Homes

temperature; this sensor provides the only the unit can automatically adjust the tem- experience at the center of the feedback loop.
feedback from the environment. Such systems perature, direction, and speed of the airflow Generation 2 air-conditioning units
can be regarded as Generation 1. In contrast, a to save energy and improve the degree are already available on the market, made
second-generation system, integrating a of comfort. possible by the recent volume availability
thermal imager, knows whether there are As for comfort, there are various mathe- of cost-efficient thermal imagers of 1,000
occupants in the room and possibly where matical models that establish a direct relation to 5,000 pixels. We project that the rapid
in the room those occupants are located. between a person’s average skin temperature evolution of thermal imaging technology will
This enables more efficient utilization of the and the person’s perceived comfort level. bring Generation 3 functionality to high-end
air-conditioning unit. For a small apartment We should keep in mind that the purpose models within five years.
room or a hotel room, a thermal imager of of air-conditioning and HVAC systems is to
a few hundred to a thousand pixels may be ensure a certain level of comfort and well- WELLNESS MONITORING OF INFANTS
sufficient, and for a larger living space, a being of the occupants, rather than to merely AND ELDERS
sensor with a few thousand pixels is needed, cool or heat the air of a room to a preset Baby monitors with video streaming have
coupled with a lens that has field of view of temperature. This leads us to the concept of already been on the market for a while and
more than 90°. what we call Generation 3 HVAC systems. are a great way to share moments of the
Figure 4 shows the smart thermal imager At that tier, the heating or cooling unit uses child’s joy with relatives and friends, as well
air conditioner concept that Meridian even higher-resolution thermal imaging — as to let the caregiver keep an eye on the
Innovation showcased at the Shanghai Smart on the order of 5,000 to 20,000 pixels — and baby remotely. However, the embedded visual
Home Technology Expo in September 2019. can obtain a more detailed thermal picture, cameras cannot give a direct insight into the
Note that the content of the thermal image measure the average skin temperature of the physiological state of the baby. A thermal
gives insight into not only the occupancy occupants directly, and estimate their level of imaging sensor can.
of the compartment but also the overall comfort. This information enables ambience Extensive research and development efforts
distribution of temperature across the room. control that aims at true thermal comfort, are under way to create baby monitors that
Based on this more detailed information, rather than temperature, and puts the human integrate both visual and thermal cameras
and back the cameras with a rich AI computa-
tional engine. Figure 5 shows an example of
the products that are on the horizon. The field
offers many possibilities.
For example, because elevated temperature
is a common symptom of illness, it is every
parent’s desire to recognize the symptom as
early as possible, even in the middle of the
night. To address this application, one can
develop an accurate tracking of the baby’s
normal temperature patterns when the baby
is healthy and happy, then automatically
detect the occurrence of anomalous tempera-
ture patterns and alert the child’s caregivers
early in the development of a symptom.
It should be kept in mind that the healthy
pattern of babies’ core body temperature
exhibits a significant diurnal variation that
can be nearly 2° between its lowest and
highest points. This pattern appears to be
unique to each child and slowly evolves as
the child’s physiology develops, so capturing
the pattern requires continuous observation.
Therefore, a baby monitor positioned above
the crib seems like a natural place to observe
and record this evolution.
Beyond health status, the thermal and
visual light streaming modalities can be fur-
ther leveraged in a feedback loop with a smart
baby mobile to engage an infant’s developing
brain in interactive play. Both the behavioral
pattern and corresponding temperature mark-
ers can be analyzed at the same time. These
technologies can help caregivers nurture safe,
smart, and healthy babies.
Wellness-monitoring systems that use
thermal imaging can also help protect the
elderly and others with physical challenges,
without compromising their privacy. This
Figure 4: Smart thermal imager air conditioner (Source: Meridian Innovation) is crucially important, given two significant

MARCH 2022 | www.eetimes.eu