Accurate thermal imaging is a tricky technology. There are many options out there, but it’s hard to find something affordable enough for mass deployment in an IoT installation. So let us introduce you to Calumino.
At Wirepas OPEN 2024, ipXchange met Owen from Calumino, a computer-vision startup that is bringing new life and use cases to infrared sensing in applications such as IoT presence monitors that use Wirepas’ mesh networking protocols. Unlike an expensive high-resolution thermal camera or a simple PIR sensor, Calumino’s solution sits between these two technologies and price points, with much better signal-to-noise ratio than thermopile-based solutions.
Calumino’s low-resolution (28 x 15 pixels) thermal image sensor takes the concept of a typical camera and produces a highly private readout where a person cannot be identified – this sensing is all done optically. Edge-AI algorithms, also developed by Calumino, then anonymously recognise the presence of a person, for example, and count them. This is what is shown in the demonstration.
Calumino’s solution is useful for occupancy monitoring in smart building and smart city applications. Since Calumino’s sensor can detect where a person is in space, this can help building managers to identify areas of interest or automatically adjust the heating or air conditioning of a room to suit the people within it. If no-one is present, you can save energy.
Calumino’s sensor can also be used in care settings and environments like holding cells to ensure a person is present where they should be. The infrared sensing basis also enables it to be installed behind an opaque film for user peace of mind that they are not ‘being watched’. And this obviously means that Calumino’s sensor works in dark environments.
Calumino’s thermal image sensor presents an affordable, high-accuracy presence detection solution that can be easily integrated into microcontroller-based IoT devices.
An EVK based on the ESP32 ecosystem is available for engineers to get started using this technology. Out of the box, Calumino’s EVK can stream data to the cloud via Wi-Fi, or via USB to a computer. You can then monitor the output using Calumono’s cloud dashboard or CTS Player software and evaluate the performance of the inbuilt AI algorithms.
We’ve covered most of what can be revealed about this technology so far, so apply to learn more by filling out our user-defined application form, specifying your interest in Calumino. ipXchange looks forward to more updates about this exciting technology.
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