That would be fun, and thanks for pointing it out.
I don’t believe we should go that route at this time because the kit costs more than the camera does, and is more of a niche item. Also, the Lepton camera is the conventional model, instead of the enhanced Lepton camera used in the FLIR ONE. The enhanced Lepton camera has four times the resolution as the conventional version sold in this kit.
The FLIR TG165 Spot Thermal Camera is almost twice as expensive as the FLIR ONE and has 1/4th the resolution. I think the FLIR ONE’s images would be more user-friendly.
Why does this need to go to the board?
You’re spending science committee funds…
I don’t claim for a second to completely understand our funding, but once it is the committee’s money you can spend away, as I understand. …
Does Science have a computer powerful enough to run the Android development environment, especially the device emulator for debugging? When I tried it several years ago, I gave up.
OOOOOOOOH.
I thought about half the cost had already been raised with people willing to chip in and science funds were going to pick up the other half…
I missed the idea of having the board buy half. …
Thank you for clarifying.
Is this saying they are donating their phones to be the host 100% of the time or only using there personal phone to test with?
If you come to the BOD, for me what it will take is there needs to be both a phone or tablet attached at all times so that anyone can use it no matter what phone/tablet they personally own. To clarify it need to be able to operate standalone with nobody having to bring there own phone.
I originally intended to buy it entirely out of Science funds, but that’s half our savings, with no direct way of replacing that money. We don’t charge for tool usage, only consumables. Perhaps we could earn the money back in honorariums, if that doesn’t get cut.
Then, Luke @lukeiamyourfather suggested asking the Board for matching funds. Sure, why not? The worst they could do is say no.
Several people have offered to donate, and maybe donations will prove sufficient? So far, though, I am unaware of actually receiving any money for this (I don’t know that we even have the means of accepting donations, short of someone handing me cash). So, maybe the Board could pass the hat for us?
My understanding is that we have at least two Android phones that would work with this device and would be available 100% of the time for this purpose. Of course, if someone wants to donate a tablet, we could try that, too.
I would like to store the device and phone in a drawer. Right now, I might keep it locked in the Science locker, with a phone number to two people who have keys.
I just spoke with the FLIR salesman. He suggested that we might be interested in the C2, as it is an all-in-one (don’t need a cell phone or tablet) and intended more for research/industrial applications. He says he could get us a significant discount (details pending) as we are an educational non-profit; he suggests that we might want to get several of these devices, so they could be used by students in classes. They are looking to partner with educational facilities that could develop curricula and materials that FLIR could share on their website. It would help our case with FLIR if we could get a group of people to work on developing applications and materials for use with FLIR products.
For what this is worth, I’d think it would look better if you went ahead and bought the device, and then asked the board to reimburse for half if they’re feeling like fund matching would be a good thing. I don’t know if they historically do that. What you need is a PayPal thingy like they use for 3d printing, laser, etc. Who set those “boxes” up? Seems like every committee should have one by default so that anyone could donate at any time, as demonstrated by @LisaSelk , mblatz, Clayton, etc. here:
Also, I thought some of the volunteers were committee funded, and I have no idea how that would work. I would again think it would carry some positivity forward if you spent the dough you were planning to spend to get it anyway, and then asked for them to throw in the portion they pledged. Again, no idea how you’d actually make that transfer, but this can’t be the first time it’s been done…
From my observations, ask @Brandon_Green as he seems to be well-versed in spending automotive money, given all the cool stuff they’ve contributed to the 'Space in the last few months.
Looks like Brooks already started casting some seeds…
The C2 looks nice. What scientific uses of the Flir could we create classes with? heat signatures of chemical reactions? Thermal imaging plants? Diagnosing laser tube cooling?
Yes, to all the above. Also, we could look for healthy tissue in animals and people, check for heat buildup in electronics, maybe see if we can find excessive wear on mechanical parts. We likely would get more ideas after we get the camera.
I have the Seek thermal for my IPhone (don’t hate me because I have apple, it’s a work phone)… I have to say I am impressed with the Seek. I can’t compare it to FLIR but I picked mine up from Home Depot back in February. I use it for all sorts of stuff, I can point it at a condenser & see the warm/cool spots. I can look at my ceiling & see where I need to add insulation. I have also used it to troubleshoot my electronics & LED’s to see if they are getting to hot.