Infrared Imaging Technology Basics

Level: Introductory Length: 2 hours Format: In-Person Lecture Intended Audience: Executives, personnel in sales and business development, and non-technical employees of companies that make infrared cameras Description: From near-infrared security cameras above your front door, to thermal infrared camera accessories that mount to smartphones, infrared imaging technology is everywhere. But there is still confusion and misinformation about what it is and what it can and cannot do. This 2-hour, high-level introduction to the topic, with minimal math or physics knowledge required, is for the growing number of non-specialists who need to understand infrared imaging technology and its many applications. The presentation materials consist of infrared images from the instructor’s extensive library, the stories these images tell us, how they are made and how the technology and the phenomena it captures relates to the more familiar realm of visible-light cameras and human vision. Learning Outcomes: This course will enable you to: - discuss infrared imaging technology with engineers, scientists, and customers - explain and understand the terminology of infrared radiation science and technology - explain how object emit and reflect infrared energy and how cameras detect it Instructor(s): Austin A. Richards is a consultant to the aerospace industry on matters of imaging technology, particularly in the infrared and ultraviolet wavebands. He was a senior principal research scientist at FLIR in Santa Barbara until 2021. Austin has specialized in scientific applications of infrared imaging technology since 1999. He holds a Ph.D. in astrophysics from UC Berkeley and is the author of the SPIE monograph Alien Vision: Exploring the Electromagnetic Spectrum with Imaging Technology. He is also an SPIE Fellow. Event: SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing 2025 Course Held: 14 April 2025