Panasonic Grid-EYE is Infra-Red sensor. The sensor is comprised of 64 individual Thermopile elements arranged in an 8x8 matrix. The sensor comes in a compact surface mount package and can be very easily integrated into IoT applications.

Infra-red signals have historically found applications in heat and temperature measurement – leading to application in PIR sensor to Thermal Imaging cameras. In case of Grid-EYE integrated lens on the sensor focuses the infra-red signals from the scene on to the array, leading to a voltage difference between the electrodes of individual Thermopile elements. The generated voltages corresponds to the temperature information. Grid-EYE’s integrated ASIC the performs core functions – including reading out pixels, analog amplification, analog to digital conversion, sensitivity correction, correction for temperature effects, and digital readout over I2C bus. As an I2C slave, it can connect to any general-purpose microcontroller or microprocessor acting as I2C Master. The temperature values read out at  a selectable rate of 1 or 10 Hz  represent moving average values.

Different variants are available within Grid-EYE portfolio. Three different lens types are available : 36°, 60° and 90° - thus providing the flexibility in choosing a Field of View according to the application. Specific variants are also available based on supply voltages 3.3V or 5V. For variant information, please consider the part number table below.