Skip to main content

This tiny gadget turns your smartphone into a thermal-imaging camera

seek thermal compactpro turns any smartphone into camera
Seel Thermal
A new device takes a literal spin on hot or not — the Seek CompactPRO is a small gadget you plug into your smartphone to instantly add thermal-imaging capabilities.

Sure, the CAT S60 has built-in thermal imaging, but for those not crazy about the construction-like fashion statement, thermal imaging will soon be available on any smartphone with the Seek add-on. An update to the pricier and larger Seek Thermal Camera, the Seek CompactPro is the first add-on thermal camera with a 320 x 240 sensor array, according to the manufacturer.

The Seek CompactPRO weighs less than half an ounce and can plug into any Android or iOS camera. The compatible app allows users to see the thermal readout from the add-on’s sensor from -40 to 625 degrees Fahrenheit, and from up to 1,800 feet away. The lens gives the thermal cam a 32-degree field of view.

At a bit under $500, the thermal camera is no toy, but it’s much more affordable than most thermal cameras, used professionally in construction and other fields. The app will also see an update allowing for storing thermal images in the radiometric file format –creating a 76,800 pixel image to analyze later with all the temperature details.

“High performance thermal imaging tools used to be expensive, difficult to carry, and primarily used by few people in large industrial facilities,” said Seek Thermal’s CMO/VP of Global Marketing Tracey Benson. “It is one of the most important sensing technologies that can prevent costly damages, increase productivity, and help avoid dangerous situations in hundreds of applications. If we can make it more affordable to find problems faster and easier with high-performance imaging quality in portable size devices, we are succeeding at our mission. Our aim is to fit everyone’s budget and put smart tools into the hands of more people who can really use it.”

Compared to the original Seek Thermal Camera, the latest version has a higher resolution and smaller design, but comes at a bit higher price.

Editors' Recommendations

Hillary K. Grigonis
Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…
This tiny sensor is about to change your phone camera forever
Spectricity's S1 Spectral Image Sensor.

“We believe there's a real opportunity to develop and use a spectral imager in a smartphone. Despite all the progress which has been made with different cameras and the computing power of a smartphone, none can really identify the true color of a picture.”

This is how Spectricity CEO Vincent Mouret described the company’s mission to Digital Trends in a recent interview, as well as the reason why it's making a miniaturized spectral image sensor that’s ready for use in a smartphone. But what exactly is a spectral sensor, and how does it work? It turns out, it can do a whole lot more than just capture pretty colors.
Have you ever seen this color?
Spectricity CEO Vincent Mouret (from left) and application engineer Michael Jacobs Spectricity

Read more
How your smartphone could replace a professional camera in 2023
A close up of the Tecno Phantom X2 Pro's camera.

The steady decline in digital camera sales is barely a mystery. Mobile phones have largely replaced point-and-shoot cameras and are now coming after more expensive and professional-grade equipment. 2023 is set to witness various emerging trends that could result in mobile phones replacing DSLR cameras.

While hardware is at the forefront of this transition, we also expect advancements in computational photography and videography, along with reliance on machine learning tools. Here are the top reasons why camera brands need to acknowledge and be wary of smartphone cameras.
1-inch sensors are becoming mainstream

Read more
This gadget could turn your M1 Mac into a productivity beast
An Apple MacBook with four extra displays added.

If you own an M1 or M2 Mac and you've been wishing you could add a few extra screens to it, you now can. A new USB-C dock lets you add up to four external displays, which is a lot more than the Apple chip supports by default.

That number of displays comes at a price, though -- it may not be optimal for every kind of work or entertainment.

Read more