The technique of thermal imaging enhances the visibility and clarity of subjects through infrared radiation in a dark environment and creates an image based upon that information. Thermal imaging can penetrate darkness such as smoke, fog, and haze and can work without ambient light in environments. Thermal imaging can reduce downtime, even though during the thermal energy audit they no longer have to shut down their operating systems. In comparison, this procedure is non-invasive and requires minimal physical touch. Thus, the equipment subject to thermal inspections is not damaged.

Market Insights

Thermal imaging is the technique of improving the visibility and clarity of objects by identifying an object or image with infrared light.  Even during thermal audits, companies would no longer need to shut down their operational systems. Thermal imaging helps companies make a lot of money by helping them in the early stages detect defective components. In addition, the technique is not invasive and has no physical contact. Thus, the equipment subject to thermal inspections is not damaged. Recently, there has been a gradual reduction in the cost of thermal cameras. Moreover, the growth of the industry will be further improved by the installation of thermal cameras on hardware such as the television and smartphones. However, in some segments lack of awareness and a low adoption rate are a major obstacle to this industry’s progress. The use of thermal imaging cameras in a number of industries including aerospace, automobile, military and others will provide greater prospects because of its potential to detect temperature variations.

Aerospace & defense vertical to hold largest share of thermal imaging market during forecast period

Owing to the increased need for border protection for police service, the thermal imaging market is dominated by global aerospace & defense. In fact, thermal imaging scoping and protection applications meet with the highest military operation requirements (land, sea and air). The solutions are for thermal array, weapons sights and controls, tanks and military vehicles (MVs), UAVs, maritime intelligence, IR sensors and View Enhancers (DVEs).

Growing Need for Thermal Cameras among Firefighters to Drive the Growth of the Market

Thermal cameras come handy for personnel fire and rescue, in the dark, smoky environment in order to detect people , animals and objects. Specialized in the fire protection sector, the main players follow different organic and inorganic approaches to grow and supply advanced cameras. In March 2019, for instance, Seek Thermal signed a service deal with thermal imaging equipment with fire and rescue services around the region with the Los Angeles Fire Department. Those thermal cameras help improve personal protection when allowing firefighters to stop and evacuate and save people from danger.

North America, due to the involvement of thermal imaging equipment suppliers and R&D centers, is expected to lead the world thermal imaging industry. High demand for thermal imaging in several law-enforcement activities as well as in commercial and industrial sectors is the main driving force behind the thermal imaging industry in the area. The development of the market in the region is projected to be fuel in Europe's growing demand for surveillance and defense applications and a steady reduction in costs in thermal camera. Asia-Pacific, because of the growing use of thermal imaging technology in various military applications, is expected to have the biggest market share. The increasing understanding of non-safety & monitoring thermal imaging applications, such as tracking, surveillance and inspection, provides more growth opportunities for industry players in markets where high industrial demands are especially significant, including in China, India , the Middle East and South America.

Key Players

Major players included in this report are Flir systems, Testo AG, Axis communications, Danaher Corporation, BAE systems, DRS technologies, Thermoteknix Systems Ltd., Infrared Imaging Services LLC., SATIR, Gratton Infrared Services, and others.

The global thermal imaging market is segmented as below:

Market Segmentation

Thermal Imaging Market By Solution

Software

Hardware

Services

Thermal Imaging Market By Industry

Firefighting

Surveillance

Intelligent Transportation System

Commercial and Residential Security

Surveys

Automotive

Personal Vision

Threat Detection

Others

Thermal Imaging Market By Application

Commercial Users

Defense and Military

Thermal Imaging Market By Geography

North America

• U.S
• Canada

Europe

• UK
• Germany
• France
• Spain
• Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific

• China
• Japan
• India
• Australia
• South Korea
• Rest of Asia-Pacific

Latin America

• Brazil
• Mexico
• Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa

• GCC
• South Africa
• Rest of Middle East & Africa