Buy Your Own Helicopter Thermal Imaging System

At $US40,000, this Helicopter FLIR Thermal Imaging System/Infrared Imager may seem a little bit expensive, but when the eBay sellers tells you that “these units are just off a fleet-wide upgrade by a major federal government agency”, the prospect of adding it to your home-made cardboard helicopter or drug-smuggling vehicle looks better and better by the second. Don’t think this is your usual night vision system, however. A FLIR is much more advanced than that.

Whereas your typical night vision system operates in the visible light and near infrared ranges (0.4 to 1.0 micrometres), a forward looking infrared (FLIR) is an imaging device capable of capturing infrared radiation in real time, assembling a video image that pilots can use under any weather and light conditions.

A forward looking infrared (FLIR) is an imaging device that can capture infrared radiation in real time.

The whole package includes and interface distribution (I don’t know what those ports are, but they don’t look like your mom’s USB ports), a precision pointing system with infrared imager unit, a hand control unit, and the box and manuals. [eBay]