Camera Technology Debuts at Daytona 500

FLIR Advanced Thermal Solutions has developed a state-of-the-art IR camera system called the ’Heat Seeker’ that has enabled broadcaster - Fox Sports to record the extreme temperatures which develop on NASCAR motor vehicles during their recent Daytona 500 live broadcast. The thermal images are of particular interest as cars running in the rear of a piggy-backed pair lose air flow while drafting and must eventually switch places with the lead car to avoid overheating their engine. The technology can also reveal the on-track groove cars are using, as well as the difference between tyres about to be changed compared to fresh replacements. FLIR cameras were featured in three live segments during the Daytona 500 race: one segment that compared a hot tyre just taken of a car to a cold tyre sitting in the pits, the second segment compared the hoods of two cars during the race, and the final segment showed a blown out tyre just after being removed from a car late in the race.

FLIR supplied two of its SC8300 HD thermal cameras to Fox Sports to enable it to cover the race. One camera was configured to be portable and used by a roving Fox camera man in the pits. The other camera was mounted on a tripod at Turn 4 approximately 100 feet from the track. The pit camera was used to acquire thermal images of the activity in the pits and the Turn 4 camera was used to take video of the cars as they passed by at over 200mph. Every day researchers throughout the world are looking for new methods to help them solving their scientific questions. Thermal imaging using IR cameras’ has proven to be an invaluable tool to solve a wide variety of scientific problems based on heat and temperature measurement. Because of its non-intrusive analysis capacity, thermal imaging systems have become indispensable instruments for a wide variety of research and development applications.