Infrared Imaging Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

The Global Infrared Imaging Market is projected to expand from USD 10.16 Billion in 2025 to USD 17.09 Billion by 2031, reflecting a CAGR of 9.05%. Infrared imaging functions as a sensing technology that visualizes temperature variations by detecting thermal radiation emitted from objects. Market growth is fundamentally supported by the growing necessity for predictive maintenance in industrial manufacturing and the increasing demand for automotive night vision systems to improve safety. These drivers arise from critical operational needs in automation and security surveillance, distinct from purely technological trends. According to the VDMA Machine Vision sector group, the manufacturing industry held a 71 percent market share for vision systems in 2024, underscoring the heavy reliance on imaging technologies for quality control and industrial automation.

One significant obstacle to market expansion involves the high production costs linked to advanced infrared detectors. The intricate fabrication processes necessary for high-performance sensors lead to elevated prices, which can hinder the adoption of these technologies in cost-sensitive commercial sectors and restrict their reach into broader consumer markets. This financial barrier limits the widespread penetration of thermal imaging solutions beyond specialized applications.

Market Drivers

A primary catalyst for the infrared imaging market is the escalation in global defense spending and military modernization efforts. Nations are prioritizing the procurement of advanced optronics to improve situational awareness and target acquisition capabilities in low-light conditions, a trend reflected in growing budgets for thermal sights and surveillance systems. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's 'Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2023' Fact Sheet from April 2024, global military spending increased by 6.8 percent in real terms, reaching $2.44 trillion in 2023. This influx of capital accelerates the deployment of both cooled and uncooled infrared detectors across land, sea, and air platforms, ensuring defense forces maintain operational superiority against emerging threats.

Simultaneously, the incorporation of infrared technology into automotive ADAS and autonomous driving systems is significantly fueling market growth. Regulatory authorities are increasingly mandating safety features that function effectively in darkness, where standard visual cameras often fail. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 'Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 127' final rule from April 2024, the requirement for automatic emergency braking systems to operate at night is expected to save at least 362 lives annually, compelling manufacturers to adopt thermal sensing for compliance. Highlighting the scale of this demand, Teledyne Technologies reported in their '2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K' from February 2024 that their Digital Imaging segment generated net sales of $3.1 billion, demonstrating the substantial financial magnitude of the sensing and imaging hardware sector.

Market Challenges

The substantial production costs associated with advanced infrared detectors serve as a significant constraint on the global infrared imaging market. These sensors demand complex fabrication processes to guarantee accuracy and thermal sensitivity, which inherently raises manufacturing expenses and keeps the final price of imaging systems elevated. Consequently, this pricing structure renders the technology less accessible for cost-sensitive commercial applications and restricts its expansion into high-volume consumer sectors where budgetary limits are much tighter than in defense or specialized industrial settings.

This financial hurdle directly affects market growth by decelerating the adoption rate of thermal sensing hardware among potential new users. When capital expenditure requirements are substantial, organizations often postpone or scale back their procurement of vision systems. According to the VDMA Machine Vision sector group in 2024, the industry anticipated a nominal turnover decline of 3 percent attributed to a general reluctance to invest in capital equipment. This contraction illustrates how economic factors, driven by high unit costs, can impede the broader penetration and consistent expansion of imaging technologies.

Market Trends

The integration of Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) technology in industrial machine vision is gaining momentum due to the availability of cost-effective sensing materials, such as colloidal quantum dots, which are replacing traditionally expensive Indium Gallium Arsenide (InGaAs) detectors. This technological shift lowers the financial threshold for implementing SWIR capabilities - used for tasks like detecting moisture, sorting plastics, and inspecting semiconductor wafers - enabling them to move beyond niche high-end manufacturing into broader commercial applications. Highlighting this rapid shift toward affordability, Emberion Oy stated in an October 2024 press release titled 'Emberion Oy Introduces Groundbreaking Ultra Low-Cost SWIR Sensor' that the company achieved a production cost of less than €50 per sensor for its new quantum dot-based technology in large volumes, a price drop expected to facilitate widespread deployment in cost-sensitive industrial sectors.

Concurrently, the proliferation of uncooled microbolometers is driving the incorporation of thermal imaging into mass-market electronics, particularly within the mobile and wearable segments. Advances in wafer-level packaging and sensor miniaturization have enabled the production of compact, energy-efficient thermal cores that integrate seamlessly into consumer devices for home diagnostics and personal safety. Demonstrating this trend toward accessible hardware, Seek Thermal announced in a June 2024 press release titled 'Introducing Seek Nano' the launch of its new Nano 200 thermal camera for smartphones at a price point of $149, significantly undercutting traditional market rates. This commoditization is transitioning thermal sensing from a specialized professional tool into an everyday utility, fostering a new ecosystem of consumer-oriented applications distinct from industrial or military uses.

Key Players Profiled in the Infrared Imaging Market

• Teledyne Technologies Incorporated
• Leonardo DRS, Inc.
• Axis Communications AB
• Zhejiang Dali Technology Co.,Ltd.
• Opgal Ltd.
• L3Harris Technologies, Inc.
• Fluke Corporation
• RTX Corporation
• Allied Vision Technologies GmbH
• BAE Systems PLC

Report Scope

In this report, the Global Infrared Imaging Market has been segmented into the following categories:

Infrared Imaging Market, by Technology:

• Cooled Infrared Imaging
• Uncooled Infrared Imaging

Infrared Imaging Market, by Wavelength:

• Near-Infrared
• Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR)
• Mid-Wave Infrared (MWIR)
• Long-Wave Infrared (LWIR)

Infrared Imaging Market, by Application:

• Security & Surveillance
• Monitoring & Inspection
• Detection

Infrared Imaging Market, by Vertical:

• Aerospace & Defense
• Automotive
• Healthcare
• Industrial
• Others

Infrared Imaging Market, by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• South America
• Middle East & Africa

Competitive Landscape

Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the Global Infrared Imaging Market.

Available Customization

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