This company, founded in 2000 and based in Quebec City, Canada, designs and manufactures high-performance hyperspectral imaging systems and infrared cameras for defence, industrial, and academic research applications. It also offers R&D services for optical systems technology development.
Telops found its first customers by providing engineering services for defence-related partners, but its turning point came with the Hyper-Cam, which was launched in 2005. “That was how Telops transitioned from doing only hyperspectral to also providing high-speed and high-capability broadband infrared cameras,” explains Ben Saute, Product Line Manager, Scientific.
“Our product line today is focused on high-end measurements – we really try to build devices, instruments and cameras that address the most challenging scientific measurement problems,” he says. “Whether you need a super-high frame-rate camera, high-spatial resolution or spectral resolution that can have challenging measurement requirements, we make systems that do those hard things and we try to be at the cutting-edge of the technology and push the envelope on what's possible. That's really been our DNA from the beginning.
”With about 90 employees, it has made a name for itself with a series of market-defining launches, including the Hyper-Cam Mini, which is an advanced passive infrared hyperspectral imaging system that balances high spatial and spectral resolution. It offers real-time radiometrically calibrated data for gas and solid detection and identification.
2024 promises to be an interesting year for Telops with three major products due to market.
Customisation is a critical offering from the company. Telops has access to a wide selection of infrared detectors, readout integrated circuits and detector coolers. It can design and build an ideal camera configuration – whether fast-frame rates, greater sensitivity, higher resolution, an extended temperature dynamic range, multispectral or hyperspectral capability, special optics, or just an irregular mechanical configuration, are needed.
Telops also offers measurement services, with on-demand access to its advanced products and industry-leading expertise. Benefits to customers from this include:
Testing camera capability prior to purchase
Management of short-term data collection
Access to state-of-the-art infrared cameras
Technical support for experiment planning and execution
- Access to its professional team of engineers for camera operation and data processing.
Despite some of the supply-chain challenges facing all organisations, Saute believes it’s the drive for pushing scientific boundaries that keeps the innovation pace intense. “Telops has been mostly focused on delivering products across its history. So, we're going to keep continuing to focus on delivering products and innovating,” he said.
Telops has recently launched an airborne methane detection service. “The idea here is that we mount our airborne Hyper-Cam Mini onto an aircraft and fly over natural gas delivery pipelines to do the leak inventory work that is mandated now across different regulations,” says Saute. “We all know methane is a big problem that's getting a lot of attention, so we see a lot of success there already.”
Telops has distinguished itself with the quality of its personnel and its innovative approach to the technological challenges of the optics and photonics field. Today, the expertise of its scientists, engineers and technicians and the performance of its infrared cameras and hyperspectral imagers are internationally recognised. While being headquartered in Canada, Telops caters to an international market using an efficient network of distribution and representation.
