The FLIR Lepton, launched in 2014, became the industry's first long-wave infrared (LWIR) thermal camera to be integrated into smartphones, at a price approximately ten times lower than previous traditional thermal camera modules. Lepton incorporates multiple proprietary technologies, including wafer-level detector encapsulation, wafer-scale micro-optics, a custom application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a low-cost, easy-to-integrate camera package.
Since its launch, Lepton has been integrated into more than 20 FLIR products, including various generations of FLIR ONE® smartphone camera accessories, the FLIR C2/C3™ compact cameras for building inspection professionals, the FLIR Duo™ drone camera, and the full range of FLIR Infrared Guided Measurement™ (IGM) measurement and testing products. In addition, Lepton has been integrated into numerous third-party OEM products, such as the Cat® S60, the first smartphone with built-in thermal imaging, the Snap-on® diagnostic thermal imager for automotive inspections, and the Black Hornet nano-class drone from Prox Dynamics, a company FLIR acquired in 2016.
FLIR has also announced that it will make the FLIR Lepton 3 available to OEMs for integration into their products. With a resolution of 160 x 120, the Lepton 3 offers four times the thermal resolution of the previous generation Lepton, providing OEMs with superior image detail while maintaining the ease of package integration for even greater practicality in commercial applications. Its small size, common to all Lepton versions, allows for integration into a wide variety of products, including smartphones, diagnostic tools, automobiles, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, building controls, process equipment, security systems, machine vision systems, advanced gaming devices, and unmanned aerial systems.
“The production of our one millionth Lepton is a historic milestone for FLIR and demonstrates our commitment to making the power of thermal imaging more accessible to the global public,” said Andy Teich, FLIR President and CEO. “Our commitment to developing low-cost, high-volume thermography technology continues to open new markets. The availability of the Lepton 3 represents another important step, enabling OEMs to create new products with superior performance while maintaining the innovation in size, weight, power, and cost-effectiveness that Lepton cameras pioneered.”
