How to avoid Thermal Imaging devices

August 11, 2022

 

In today's world of increasing technology and total surveillance, it's hard to hide. It doesn't matter if you are inside or outside a building, in a train station, in an airport, in a store, in an underground parking lot, in an office, or on the street. You are under surveillance everywhere. Classic facial recognition systems analyze our images every minute and feed that information into databases. It makes you wonder, how can you protect yourself from the ubiquitous surveillance? And there are options for hiding from security cameras. For example, roll up behind the wall, go under the cameras in some places, cover the necessary camera with something, or "blind" it with the laser beam. All that is possible. But how to hide from cameras designed based on passive infrared radiation called thermal imaging? Thermal detection devices of this type catch the heat radiated by the object of observation in infrared radiation. And no matter how cleverly the object was camouflaged, the indicators of the temperature difference between warm and cold, the device will unmistakably determine the warm object. And not only will it detect, but when using large military surveillance systems and gun sights, it will happen at a distance of almost a thousand yards. At the same time, the thermal imager does not need light to "see" you. Despite the downpour, dense snow, fog, and thunderstorm, which significantly reduce the range of the equipment, you will still be in the palm of your hand. So is it possible to hide from a device endowed with such sophisticated technology?

What is thermal imaging technology?

There is a concept of "heat signature. It can be explained as some ingrained dogma of fact. The hotter the object, the more heat it emits. If you decided to have coffee in the morning and forgot about it, you tasted the barely warm beverage and brewed a second beverage after a while. What did you end up with, besides disappointment and pleasure? That's right, the heat signature of two objects with different wavelengths, or heat radiation. A cup of steep boiling water will give a short wave at a high frequency of that radiation in the spectrum of heat emitted. And vice versa. From this data, the analysis will "draw" the object in its colored temperature splendor. Where red, orange, and yellow indicate hot spots and black and blue, respectively, cold spots. Without an infrared camera, also called a "thermal imager," we will never see this.
The human eye does not perceive infrared radiation. That's why the infrared camera was created, where it converts the infrared image of an object which is not visible into the visible image on a photocathode. This technology is widely used in science, technology, and almost all walks of life. It has become commonplace in medicine to use this technology to treat various diseases. Thermal imaging has also found its application in construction, agricultural production, industry, and other industries. At the same time, there is no doubt that the most demanded television devices with the latest modifications are in service of special units and unique services. These devices do not give a single chance to the object of observation even to doubt that it will remain unnoticed. But is it so? Can no amount of countermeasures keep us safe from the all-seeing heat scanner? It turns out that everything is not so unambiguous.

How can you hide from thermal imaging technology?

Once you have studied the principle of thermal imaging and its capabilities, you understand what to do when there is a real threat to "glow" on the sensor display and how to avoid detection. To begin with, let's try to outline the main points that will help you choose the direction to take cover from thermal radiation. So, the heat your body emits does not penetrate all objects. This is encouraging news. In excellent action movies, the main characters escape the heat by covering themselves abundantly in mud or donning wetsuits. A good product that has nothing to do with real life. The mud will warm up a little faster than your body "transfers" its heat to the wetsuit. And that's it. So, let's start with ordinary water. Many transparent substances in the visible region are entirely opaque to infrared radiation. A warm-blooded object under a few centimeters of water is invisible to infrared radiation. Infrastructure, walls, ceilings, and the like. Different materials give off heat in different ways. To believe that you can dissolve into a wall disguised as a brick would be a mistake. And if you think that in the background of, for example, shrubs, whose temperature corresponds to your body temperature, you will become invisible. It will be another mistake. Do not make another mistake when choosing a place to hide. On warm and hot days, you can find a safe place, for example, by taking shelter behind reinforced concrete products, floor slabs, and building structures that are good at "absorbing" heat. Building structures should be considered solid load-bearing walls, reinforced concrete slabs, concrete blocks, and the like, not lightweight and interior brick partitions. If you find a building with a hot air vent out it, get a slight chance for a temporary respite. By camouflaging yourself nearby, you'll go undetected, as the temperature of the air being pumped out will be higher than the heat your body is generating.
Glass. There is a widespread belief that hiding behind glass is a good idea. It is believed that the thermal radiation is reflected from it like from a mirror, and if it is so, you become unreachable to the thermal imager. There is some truth in this, but not in our case. You must agree that glass has never been an obstacle for conventional optics. And taking into account that most modern developments combine thermal and optical observation systems, the chances of remaining invisible are equal to zero.
Winter. At this time of the year, thermal imaging is excellent in any of its modifications and almost unmistakably identifies warm objects against the background of cold weather. However, every cloud has a silver lining. You will disappear from the thermal imaging screen if you are buried deep in a snow drift. In the presence of snow, the cold will be your salvation.
In a desperate situation, and if the case is conducive, experts advise taking unconventional solutions. For example, create a thermal background by creating a source or several sources of heat. Set fire to everything that can burn. Tires, trash, rags, fuel, and lubricants. The brighter, the better. This will create a heat barrier and an unsolvable problem for the thermal imaging device and a chance for you to remain undetected.
And one more important point. Discussing this topic, I often heard that the panacea for all problems is wetsuits, arctic clothing, dry suits, space blankets, various blankets with reflective film, and more. Of all this list, only the space blanket can be considered. And that is on the condition that for camouflage, it is necessary to lie down in a deepened place and tightly, from above, cover yourself with a blanket, closing all possible slits. In this case, the heat released by the body will be "repelled" from the inner surface of the blanket and come back.
Undeniably, thermal imaging technology is developing, expanding, and becoming more sophisticated. That's true. But it's also true that it's a programmed camera doing its job diligently and meticulously. And you, unlike a first-class computer, are endowed with knowledge and a clear understanding of the algorithm of the work of this miracle of technology. And the question is only a desire and time for the final choice of means and methods of creating this technique. Some options for this we have advised you. The rest is in your hands.