Acoustic Camera Thermal Integration for Better Industrial Diagnostics

About the Client

The customer is a leading Scandinavian company, internationally recognized for its innovative approach to industrial maintenance. Their solutions help detect equipment faults—such as air leaks—at manufacturing sites using non-invasive methods. 

Objective

The main goal was to integrate real-time thermal imaging into a handheld acoustic device. This required merging thermal camera technology with acoustic sensors to enhance the device’s diagnostic capabilities.

Solution

The customer requested assistance with integrating a thermal imaging camera into their handheld acoustic device. To address this, a skilled C++ developer was assigned to the project to implement the necessary multimedia processing and visualization components. The thermal image is captured through the video feed of an infrared (IR) camera and processed using the GStreamer multimedia framework. GStreamer serves as a robust pipeline that handles the capture, decoding, processing, and smooth streaming of thermal video data, ensuring reliable and real-time performance.

For the visualization of the thermal feed, an OpenGL pipeline was developed that utilizes shaders to enhance the display of thermal data. This approach allows for a more detailed and descriptive representation of temperature variations by converting raw infrared signals into a color-coded thermal map. The shaders enable dynamic rendering of the thermal images, improving the technician’s ability to interpret temperature differences alongside acoustic data. The integration of these technologies resulted in a seamless combination of acoustic and thermal diagnostics within a single portable device, significantly expanding its functionality and usability in industrial maintenance scenarios.

Result

The project was delivered on schedule. With thermal imaging integrated, the handheld device now offers new capabilities: technicians can view temperature anomalies alongside acoustic data, enabling faster and more accurate fault detection. This upgrade has made the camera a more versatile tool for industrial maintenance.