Just Think of All the Things You Could Do With an Affordable Infrared Scanner for Your Smartphone

At the point where the interests of skinflints and Predator cosplayers cross, there is the Mu Thermal Imager . This prototypical device transforms a smartphone into an infrared camera, which you can point around your home to see where precious heat is being lost.

Sophisticated IR imagers, like the kind MIT researchers are using to hunt drafty buildings in cities , typically cost thousands of dollars. The Chicago-based Mu team want to bring these devices into the wallet range of hardware-store customers – from about $200 to $300 – by using the computer and optical equipment already included in iPhones, Androids and tablets. They've launched an Indiegogo campaign to make this happen; although they are far away from reaching their goal of $200,000, they've posted intriguing footage of the IR phone-scanner in action that might make a home-improvement geek have ecstatic visions of weatherstripping.

Read more at The Atlantic Cities .