V1 SLS Stickman Camera

This category spans three distinct imaging technologies, plus laser-grid tools. The relevant section(s) apply to a given product: Thermal imagers detect long-wave infrared radiation emitted by objects according to their surface temperature and render it as a false-colour image. They measure surface heat — they do not "see" cold spots in the air directly and they cannot see through most solid materials. SLS / structured-light cameras descend from the Microsoft Kinect. The camera projects a grid of infrared dots into the scene and measures how the pattern distorts to build a depth map; software originally written for gaming then tries to fit a human skeleton to that depth data and draws it as a stick figure. It is a body-tracking algorithm running on a depth sensor — not a sensor for anything paranormal. Full-spectrum and IR night-vision cameras have had the infrared-blocking filter removed (or use IR illuminators) so they record near-infrared light the eye cannot see, which is why they need an IR light source to "see" in the dark. Laser-grid projectors cast a fixed matrix of dots across a space so the eye or a camera can spot an object moving through the grid by the way it breaks or warps the pattern.

Thermal: - Cannot see through glass, mirrors or most walls — glass is highly reflective in infrared, so the camera reads heat reflected off the glass, not what is behind it. - Highly reflective / low-emissivity surfaces (shiny metal, glass) give inaccurate temperatures. - Water and damp patches read cold and can look like a "cold spot" or even a hole in the floor. SLS / structured light: - The skeleton-tracking software is prone to false positives. It will fit stick figures to chairs, coat racks, potted plants, curtains, vacuum cleaners and other inanimate shapes. - "Dancing" or jittery skeletons are sensor noise: the Kinect is guessing joint positions with high uncertainty and re-guessing as points drop out — not a figure "moving." - Range, lighting and reflective surfaces all degrade depth accuracy. Full-spectrum / IR: - Need an IR illuminator in darkness; IR light reflects off dust, insects and moisture, producing "orbs" and streaks.

Thermal: reflections in glass/metal/TV screens; investigator or recent heat sources (hand prints, seats); damp patches and draughts reading as cold spots. SLS: stick figures locked onto furniture and everyday objects; jitter from sensor noise; another person or the operator partially in frame. Full-spectrum / IR: "orbs" from dust, pollen, insects, moisture or rain close to the lens; IR-light flare and lens reflections. Laser grid: insects, dust and air movement disturbing the dots; the projector itself shifting. Best practice: in thermal, set emissivity correctly, watch for your own reflection, and never trust a reading through glass; with SLS, walk the room first to see which static objects already trigger stick figures and treat figures appearing on known objects as artefacts; with IR, expect dust orbs and rule them out before logging. None of these instruments is validated as a paranormal detector — each is a conventional imaging tool with well-understood failure modes.