Add Real Thermal Vision to Your Next Project
The Adafruit MLX90640 IR Thermal Camera Breakout - 55 Degree gives your project the ability to see heat instead of visible light. With a built-in 24 × 32 infrared sensor array, it can capture 768 individual temperature readings in every frame, making it a strong choice for contactless temperature mapping, motion detection, human presence sensing, and compact thermal imaging projects.
This version uses a 55° × 35° field of view, giving you a narrower and more focused thermal view than the wide-angle version. That makes it especially useful when you want to monitor a more specific area or detect heat sources with less background spread.
Why you'll love it
- Thermal imaging in a compact breakout: Adds heat-sensing capability without needing a bulky thermal camera
- 24 × 32 thermal pixel grid: Returns 768 temperature points over I2C
- Narrower 55° × 35° view: Better for focused sensing and tighter target areas
- Wide temperature range: Reads from -40°C to 300°C
- Microcontroller and Raspberry Pi friendly: Works with Arduino-compatible boards and Python on Raspberry Pi
- STEMMA QT ready: Easy plug-and-play I2C wiring for supported systems
What you can build
This breakout is ideal for human presence detectors, mini thermal cameras, hot-spot monitoring, thermal logging, robotics sensing, contactless thermal experiments, and educational projects that visualize temperature across a scene.
Starter bundles
Pair it with an Adafruit Feather, Raspberry Pi, or Arduino-compatible board, plus a STEMMA QT cable and a display if you want to create a self-contained thermal viewer.
Recommended add-ons
Useful add-ons include OLED or TFT displays, data logging boards, battery packs, STEMMA QT cables, and enclosures for handheld or fixed-position thermal sensing projects.
Technical specifications
| Product | Adafruit MLX90640 IR Thermal Camera Breakout - 55 Degree |
|---|---|
| Sensor | MLX90640 infrared thermal camera sensor |
| Thermal Resolution | 24 × 32 array (768 pixels) |
| Interface | I2C digital interface |
| Field of View | 55° × 35° |
| Target Temperature Range | -40°C to 300°C |
| Accuracy | ±2°C in the 0°C to 100°C range |
| Refresh Rate | Programmable 0.5Hz to 64Hz (about 0.25 to 32 FPS), with practical use commonly up to 16Hz |
| Supply Voltage | 3.3V to 5V DC |
| Current Consumption | Less than 23mA |
| Operating Temperature | -40°C to 85°C |
| Connectors | STEMMA QT / Qwiic-compatible JST SH connectors |
| Dimensions | 25.7mm × 17.7mm × 16.0mm |
| Weight | 3.5g |
Pinout & usage notes
The breakout communicates over I2C, making wiring simpler than parallel imaging modules. Since it returns a full array of temperature values, it works best with controllers that have enough memory to handle the frame data comfortably.
For Arduino-style setups, a board with at least 20KB RAM is recommended. On Raspberry Pi, you can use Python and even interpolation tools to create smoother-looking thermal images.
What’s in the box
1 × Adafruit MLX90640 IR Thermal Camera Breakout - 55 Degree
1 × Header strip for soldering
Frequently Asked Questions
Adafruit MLX90640 IR Thermal Camera Breakout - 55 Degree
Adafruit MLX90640 IR Thermal Camera Breakout - 55 Degree
Low stock: 1 left
Product Code
SKU:4407
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