If you work with highly flammable materials, you'll know the risks are real and that a fire can soon get out of control. At a wasteyard or recycling plant, for example, there will be plenty of energy sources to fuel the flames. On a factory floor, machines may overheat or dust explosions may occur. And in the battery room that's an integral part of many logistics centres and other industrial sites, batteries may overheat during charging, emit hydrogen fumes or leak acid.
 

Even if you've already installed sophisticated fire alarms and other security systems, it's unlikely they can warn you of heat risks that indicate an impending fire. Thermal cameras, on the other hand, can identify fire and overheating risks much sooner than traditional systems — before flames and smoke develop — by detecting hotspots where a fire might start.
 

Konica Minolta combines state-of-the-art Mobotix thermal imaging cameras with sophisticated AI-driven software to provide a complete solution for proactive heat detection and fire prevention. Rugged and weatherproof, a Mobotix thermal imaging camera can be used indoors or outdoors. Each camera integrates:
 

• A visual sensor for visual monitoring of the area, facility, machine or other asset

• A thermal sensor that tracks the temperature (heat) of the area, facility, machine or asset, or of specific zones

• Thermal radiometry technology for accurate measurement of each pixel in the observed scene

You set one or a series of escalating heat or temperature thresholds above which the Konica Minolta solution will issue a warning. For example:
 

• Broadcasting a warning message to onsite personnel using the camera's built-in speaker

• Showing an alert on a screen or sending it to a pre-defined email address

And because APIs enable seamless integration of each Mobotix thermal imaging camera with your existing security solutions and other systems, the Konica Minolta solution can be configured to automate actions such as:
 

• Shutting down a machine that's overheating

• Triggering your sprinkler or fire extinguishing system

Konica Minolta additionally partners with Scylla to further enhance the visual detection of fire risk. The Scylla solution combines computer vision and AI to detect hazardous environments at a distance, while avoiding false positives caused by, for example, sunlight, clouds, fog, and lights at night.