Pimoroni MLX90640 Thermal Camera Breakout

A sophisticated, hackable, 32x24 pixel thermal camera breakout offers versatile usage, from temperature monitoring of your CPU to creating a heat-seeking night vision camera. It's compatible with Raspberry Pi or Arduino, making it suitable for various projects, industrial, scientific, or just for fun. The likelihood of creating innovative solutions expands with its affordability compared to most thermal cameras.

This breakout board simplifies connectivity using I2C with a 3-6V supply and is available in two fields of view, 55° or 110°. The MLX90640 far-infrared camera consists of 768 thermal sensors that detect temperatures ranging from -40 to 300°C with 1°C accuracy, operating up to 64FPS. It’s ideal for evaluating thermal dissipation on circuit boards, identifying energy inefficiencies, or detecting presence in total darkness.

Integration with the Breakout Garden system allows easy setup by plugging into slots to grow, create, and code your project. Its Qw/ST compatibility ensures seamless connections with microcontrollers using Qwiic or STEMMA QT connectors. The kit includes the breakout, headers, and a socket for hassle-free assembly onto a Raspberry Pi's GPIO header.

The software requires manual installation, with availability in C (with a Python wrapper) and C++ for Raspberry Pi Pico. Arduino users will find an example sketch by SparkFun. Note that with permissible dead pixels, our software interpolates readings to maintain accuracy. Measures 19x19x2.75mm, fitting into any compact project design.