Thermal surveillance set to expand in the commercial sector predicts IMS Research

Commercial thermal security camera market is predicted to continue to expand rapidly in the year 2011

The use of thermal security cameras in surveillance applications is not a new phenomenon. Historically, thermal cameras have been deployed in high security buildings, border protection projects and to protect critical infrastructure such as, nuclear power plants, prisons, airports and pipelines. However, thermal cameras used in these applications have been costly and beyond the reach of most security customers. "Affordable" thermal security cameras are a new phenomenon. Innovations in uncooled sensor technology have led to a significant reduction in the cost of producing thermal cameras and paved the way for video surveillance equipment vendors to include thermal cameras in their equipment portfolios.

In 2010, Axis Communications released a low cost network thermal surveillance camera and a number of other established video surveillance vendors also released or announced the intention to release low cost thermal surveillance cameras aimed at the commercial market. This trend is predicted to continue during 2011.

Established vendors of video surveillance equipment have been able to leverage existing sales channels and relationships to stimulate new demand for thermal surveillance solutions. This strategy has proved successful for new vendors of thermal video surveillance cameras and enabled them to avoid direct competition with existing incumbent vendors.

The commercial thermal security camera market is predicted to continue to expand rapidly in 2011 as an increasing number of vendors begin to offer "affordable" thermal cameras to existing customer bases. Looking beyond 2011, it is anticipated that the prices of commercial thermal cameras could quickly reduce due to increasing economies of scale and advancements in lens technology that reduce the current dependence on germanium, a significant cost element in the production of thermal cameras.