Thermal imaging is a method of improving visibility of objects in a dark environment by detecting the objects' infrared radiation and creating an image based on that information. Thermal imaging, near-infrared illumination, low-light imaging and are the three most commonly used night vision technologies. Unlike the other two methods, thermal imaging works in environments without any ambient light. Like near-infrared illumination, thermal imaging can penetrate obscurants such as smoke, fog and haze. Here's a brief explanation of how thermal imaging works: All objects emit infrared energy (heat) as a function of their temperature. The infrared energy emitted by an object is known as its heat signature. In general, the hotter an object is, the more radiation it emits. A thermal imager (also known as a thermal camera) is essentially a heat sensor that is capable of detecting tiny differences in temperature. The device collects the infrared radiation from objects in the scene and creates an electronic image based on information about the temperature differences. Because objects are rarely precisely the same temperature as other objects around them, a thermal camera can detect them and they will appear as distinct in a thermal image. Thermal images are normally grayscale in nature: black objects are cold, white objects are hot and the depth of gray indicates variations between the two. Some thermal cameras, however, add color to images to help users identify objects at different temperatures