Camera Control
Description
The toolbar (see Figure 1) in the top left of the Thermalyze window is used to control operation of the Optotherm IS640 thermal imaging camera. There are also status fields in the bottom left of the Thermalyze window that display camera operational information.
Figure 1: Camera Control toolbar
Camera
 Initialize Camera Link Board |
Press this button to setup the Matrox Solios camera link video board for image capture. Unpress this button to free the video board computer resources. |
 Camera Link Power |
Press this button to enable power over camera link (PoCL) via the Matrox Solios camera link video board. Unpress this button to disable PoCL. When enabled, the IS640 camera is powered by 12VDC over the camera link cable. |
 Camera Communication |
Press this button to establish serial communication between the IS640 camera and computer. Unpress this button to deactivate communication. Serial com port settings are available on the Camera Communication window. Communication is required for Thermalyze to read and control camera operational parameters. |
 Capture Images |
Press this button to begin capturing and displaying real-time thermal images. Unpress this button to stop capturing images. The rate at which images are captured is displayed in frames per second (fps) in the Processing Rate status field in the bottom left of the Thermalyze window. Note: The IS640 camera image capture rate is 60 fps. The IS640-NLR (no export license required camera capture rate is 7.5 fps. Note: The date and time of the most recently captured image is displayed below the Main Image. Caution: To prevent permanent damage to the detector, avoid staring at high temperature (> 300°C) targets for long periods of time. |
 Camera Settings |
Press this button to open the Camera Settings window. |
Touchup
 Enable Automatic Touchup Calibrations |
The response of detector pixels is normalized during factory camera calibration. While capturing images however, changes in detector temperature may result in small fluctuations in pixel response and increased image noise. Touchup calibrations normalize small changes in pixel response, resulting in cleaner images. Press this button to enable automatic touchup calibrations. If your camera includes a physical shutter in front of the detector and the shutter touchup feature has been enabled for your camera, the shutter will close in front of the detector periodically while capturing images to correct pixel response. If your camera does not include a physical shutter or the shutterless touchup feature has been enabled for your camera, pixel response is corrected while capturing images using advanced software analysis. Unlike shutter touchups, shutterless touchups will not periodically interrupt image capture. |
 Perform Touchup Calibration |
Press this button to perform a touchup calibration. For shutter touchups, the shutter will close momentarily in front of the detector, halting image capture briefly. For shutterless touchups, software analysis parameters will be reset and pixel noise correction will initiate while image capture continues. |
Lens
| Camera Lens |
Select the camera lens to install on the camera. The lens options available in the drop-down box are determined by the specific lenses you purchased with your camera. When a lens is selected, the calibration data associated with that specific lens is loaded in Thermalyze in order to provide accurate radiometric temperature measurements. The Lens combo box background color will turn red if the camera and lens temperature are unstable, yellow if nearly stable, and green if stable. Important: The lens that is selected must match the lens that is currently installed on the camera in order to maintain proper camera calibration and measurement accuracy. |
Range
| Calibration Range |
Depending on the lens installed, the IS640 camera will have one or more calibration ranges within which it can measure temperature. If there are multiple ranges available for the current lens installed, the lowest range will have the best sensitivity, resolution, and accuracy. Therefore, select the lowest range available unless it is necessary to measure temperatures higher than the lowest range allows. The output signal from a pixel can saturate (beyond the limits of the output range) if the temperature to which it is exposed is higher or lower than the currently selected temperature range. The Range combo box background color will turn red if any pixels saturate high and will turn blue if any saturate low. If there are pixel that saturate high and others that saturate low, the backcolor will turn purple. Note: When transitioning between ranges, there may be a few seconds when one or more pixels saturate while the camera adjusts to the new range. Note: See your user manual for the specific calibration ranges available with your camera and lenses. |
Image Averaging
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| Enable Image Averaging |
Real-time averaging of captured images reduces pixel noise level in captured images by computing the running average of pixel temperature values. Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD) is the minimum pixel temperature change that can be detected. The NETD specification for the IS640 camera is calculated at the full frame rate and no image averaging. Image averaging can significantly reduce NETD at higher levels of averaging. |
| Number of Images to Average |
Image Averaging can be set to values from none to 128 images. High values can improve the detection of small temperature changes by reducing image noise level and NETD. Tip: While image averaging can significantly reduce pixel noise level, it also increases the measurement response time. A common result of increased response time is blurring of moving objects. Decreased response times (low Image Averaging values) are often required when measuring moving objects and when measuring objects whose temperature changes rapidly. |
Camera Status Fields
| Processing Rate |
This field displays the rate at which images are captured or the rate at which sequence images are replayed. Processing rate is displayed in units of frames per second (fps). If the IS640 camera image capture rate falls below it stated frame rate, follow the suggestions in the Introduction to increase processing rate. |
| Detector Temp |
This field displays the current temperature of the camera detector. The temperature range in which the IS640 camera is calibrated is 15-40°C. The background color of this field will turn red if the detector temperature exceeds 40°C and blue if it falls below 15°C. |
| Processor Temp |
This field displays the current temperature of the main microprocessor in the camera. Note: This parameter is displayed so that it can be provided to Optotherm technical support if requested. |
Camera Settings
Description
The Camera Settings window (see Figure 2) provides access to software settings that control communication between the IS640 camera and computer. To open the Camera Communication window, press the button in the Camera section of the Camera Control toolbar.
Figure 2: Camera Settings window
Camera Communication
| Com Port |
Select the serial com port to which the camera is connected. Communication between the IS640 camera and computer is performed via the UART on the Matrox Solios camera link video board through the camera link cable. To determine the name of the com port, open the Windows Device Manager, expand Ports (COM & LPT). The com port name will be listed next to Matrox Solios Camera Link... |
| Baud Rate |
Select the baud rate of 115,200 bps to communicate with the IS640 camera. This baud rate is programmed into the camera at the factory. |
Touchup Calibrations
| Enable Uniform Shutter Touchups |
Check this box to correct for temperature gradients across the field-of-view. Temperature gradients can be caused by image ghosting (see Sentris/Micro User Manual) or high magnification lens (5 micron lens) effects. Note: This setting has no effect if the shutterless touchup calibration feature is enabled for your camera. |
| Uniform Shutter Touchup Level |
Set the level of the Uniform Shutter Touchup correction. To compensate for high magnification lens (5 micron lens) effects, set the level to 40%. To compensate for image ghosting, set the level to 100%. You can then make fine adjustments if necessary. Note: This setting has no effect if the shutterless touchup calibration feature is enabled for your camera. |
Image Size
Description
The Main Image can be displayed with a size of 640 x 480 or 1280 x 960 pixels. To change the size of the Main Image, click the Large Image Size item under the Setup menu or press the 
button in the Setup section of the Shortcuts toolbar.
Slow Capturing: Displaying images in large size requires considerable display processing resources. If image capture rate falls when displaying image in large size, follow the suggestions in the Introduction to increase processing rate.
Color Palette
Description
A color palette is an array of colors that is associated with an image display. When an image is presented in the display, each pixel temperature value is mapped to a unique color in the palette. Most commonly, lighter palette colors represent higher temperatures while darker colors represent lower temperatures. The specific temperature values that each color represent can be changed by adjusting the temperatures that represents the lightest color of the palette and the temperature that represents the darkest color.
The Color Palette panel (see Figure 3) is located to the upper right of the Main Image on the Thermalyze application window.
Figure 3: Color Palette panel
Color Palette Controls
 Grayscale Color Palette |
Press this button to display pixel temperature in shades of gray. Use this palette when you need to resolve small physical features on a device or when focusing the camera lens. |
 Temperature Color Palette |
Press this button to display pixel temperatures in colors representing the radiant glow of objects at high temperature. Use this palette when you need to both resolve device features and also discriminate thermal differences. |
 Spectrum Color Palette |
Press this button to select the Spectrum color palette. Use this palette when you need to distinguish small thermal differences and gradients. Note: When Image Subtraction is activated, a gray area is added to Spectrum Palette between the green and blue colors and represents the temperature value of zero. |
| Auto |
Click this button to set the palette max and min values to the highest and lowest temperatures in the current image. |
| In | Click this button to zoom in to the palette slider scale in order to make fine adjustments. |
| Out | Click this button to zoom out of the Palette slider scales in order to make course adjustments. |
| Auto Scale Each | When this box is checked, the color palette is automatically scaled each time the Main Image is updated and displayed if pixel temperature values change significantly. Note: Automatically scaling the color palette requires significant computer processing resources. This box should be unchecked if the color palette is automatically scaling too often. |
| Auto Scale Region |
When this box is checked and the Auto button is clicked, the palette max and min values are set to the highest and lowest temperatures of pixels enclosed within the currently selected Region. |
| Palette Max and Min Sliders |
Color palettes can be scaled within a specific temperature range by dragging the palette Max and Min sliders. After selecting a color palette, adjust the sliders to improve the contrast of the image within the temperature range of interest. Tip: The palette sliders can also be adjusted using the mouse wheel and Ctrl key as explained in the Introduction. The palette temperature range, displayed to the right of the image, displays the temperatures represented by the individual colors of the current color palette. Note: A separate set of values for the Palette Max and Min and defaults are saved in memory when Image Subtraction is activated and when Model Comparison Results are displayed. Therefore, the Min and Max values and defaults will change when Image Subtraction is activated, or Model Comparison Results are displayed. Use this feature to save a unique set of palette values for both normal mode, Image Subtraction, and Model Comparison Results |
| Move Together |
When this box is checked, the palette sliders move together when either slider is adjusted to maintain a constant temperature span. |
| Palette Max Value |
Set or adjust the palette max value. |
| Palette Min Value |
Set or adjust the palette min value. |
| Restore |
Click this button to load the previously saved palette max and min values. |
| Set | Click this button to save the current palette max and min values to memory as defaults. The currently saved default values are displayed above this button. |
Zoom and Pan
Description
The Zoom/Pan panel (see Figure 4) is located to the right of the Main Image on the Thermalyze window.
Figure 4: Zoom/Pan panel
Zoom and Pan Controls
 Zoom In |
Select this button and then click on the image to zoom in to that area. |
 Zoom Out |
Select this button to zoom out from that area. |
 Zoom Out Full |
Press this button to zoom out to 1x. |
| Zoom Level |
This field displays the current zoom level. |
 Pan |
Select this button and then click and drag on the image to pan. The image must be zoomed in at least 2x in order to pan. |
Export and Print
Description
Thermal images can be exported as images for use in reports and presentations. Image pixel data can exported in text and binary formats to facilitate opening the data from other applications or from your own custom program written in a language like c++ or c#.
Images can also be printed if you have a printer connected to your computer.
To open the Export or Print dialog boxes, select the appropriate item from the Image menu. Exported images are saved in the "Optotherm\Thermalyze\Export" folder unless you specify a different folder. Exported Image Temperature files are saved in the "Optotherm\Thermalyze\Export\Image Temperature" folder unless you specify a different folder. Exported Image Radiance files are saved in the "Optotherm\Thermalyze\Export\Image Radiance" folder unless you specify a different folder.
Export
| Export Image |
Save the thermal image as it is displayed on the screen as an image file in the following formats: bmp, jpg, png, or tif. |
| Export Image and Data |
Save the thermal image as it is displayed on the screen as an image file in the following formats: bmp, jpg, png, or tif. Data from the Region Data Grid and any existing notes (if the Notes window is open) are saved and displayed below the thermal image. |
| Export Image Temperature |
Individual pixel temperature values in the currently displayed image can be saved to file in ASCII text or binary file format. Image pixel temperature values are saved in degrees Celsius from left to right, row by row, from top to bottom. ASCII text files are saved with a ".txt" extension. Row pixel temperature values (for example, 37.54) are separated by a tab character. Image rows are separated by carriage return and line feed characters. Binary files are saved with an ".imb" extension, as consecutive four-byte floating-point values in little endian format. |
| Export Image Radiance |
Individual pixel radiant emittance values in the currently displayed image can be saved to file in ASCII text or binary file format. Image pixel radiance values are saved in units of [Watts/mK] from left to right, row by row, from top to bottom. Note: Image radiance cannot be exported when Image Subtraction is activated. ASCII text files are saved with a ".txt" extension. Row pixel radiance values (for example, 8.254) are separated by a tab character. Image rows are separated by carriage return and line feed characters. Binary files are saved with an ".imb" extension, as consecutive four-byte floating-point values in little endian format. |
| Export Image Screenshot |
The entire Thermalyze application screen can be saved in the following formats: bmp, jpg, png, or tif. |
| Print Image and Data |
When printing an image, data from the Region Data Grid and any existing notes (if the Notes window is open) is printed below the image. |
| Print with Preview |
Select this menu item to open the Print Preview dialog before printing. |
Open and Save
Description
Images are saved in binary format with a .oimg extension. To open the Open or Save Image dialog box (or the Open Image and Palette dialog box) select the item from the Image menu or press the 
or 
button in the Image section of the Shortcuts toolbar.
Filename: The file name of the most recently opened or saved image file is displayed below the Main Image.
Image File Format
Image Thumbnail
When an image is saved, a thumbnail (.jpg) is created in the same directory as the saved image so that the image can be quickly and easily identified later.
Image File Data
The following data is saved in an image file:
| Date/Time | The date and time when the image was captured. |
| Background Temp | The background temperature when the image was captured. |
| Image Pixel Temperatures | Image pixel temperature values are saved in 16-bit and lossless format that preserve temperature resolution of 0.01°C. |
| Regions | Any existing Regions and their associated Region Settings. |
| Color Palette | The current Color Palette along with the palette slider and default settings. |
| Notes | Notes are saved if the Notes window is open, and any notes exist. |
| Reference Image | When an image is saved with Image Subtraction activated, the Reference Image is automatically saved in the image file. |
Open Image
| Open Image | Select the binary image file (.oimg) to open. You can also select the image thumbnail (.jpg). When an image file is opened, the captured date/time and Background Temperature are displayed below the Main Image and then any Regions and Notes that were saved with the image are displayed. Note: When a subtracted image is opened, the Reference Image is read from the file and loaded as the current Reference Image and then Image Subtraction is activated. |
| Open Image and Palette | If an image is opened using the Open Image and Palette dialog box, the image will be displayed with the same Color Palette and Palette Max and Min settings as when it was originally saved. |
| Open Image Folder | The Image Folder window (see Figure 5) allows you to quickly view, and open image files located in a specific directory. To open the Image Folder dialog box, select the Open Image Folder from the Image menu or press the Open Image Folder button  on the Shortcuts toolbar.Note: Image thumbnails (.jpg) are displayed in the window, not binary image files (.oimg). |
Save Image
| Save Image | When saving an image file, the file name that you provide is appended with ".oimg" and saved in the "Optotherm\Thermalyze\Images" folder unless you specify a different folder. Tip: It may be helpful to include the name of the currently installed camera lens in the file name so that when the image is opened at a later time, the lens used to capture the image can be identified. Note: Saved images include no temperature processing such as Region Emissivity or Emissivity Tables. If this information is important to preserve, it must be saved separately by saving Emissivity Tables and saving Regions. |
| Save Processed Image | When applying Region Emissivity, Emissivity Tables, and/or Image Subtraction, images can be saved as they appear on screen with this information embedded into the image. When saving a processed image, Regions and Reference Images are not saved in the image file. Note: Because emissivity and subtracted image data is imbedded in processed images, this information cannot be removed or altered when a processed image is opened. Processed images are typically used for convenience to save the final results of temperature processing in one comprehensive image. |
Figure 5: Image Folder window
Image Folder
| Select Folder |
Press this button to open the Browse For Folder dialog box and then select a directory of image files to view. The currently selected directory is displayed at the bottom of the window. |
| Open |
After selecting an image thumbnail, press the Open button to open the binary image file in the folder with the same name. |
| Open Palette Info |
Check this box to open and display the image with the same Color Palette and Palette Max and Min settings as when it was originally saved. |
| Auto Scale Palette After Opening Image |
Check this box to automatically set the Palette Max and Min values to the highest and lowest temperatures in the current image (or in the currently selected Region if a Region is selected). |