Los sensores infrarrojos están diseñados especialmente para la detección, clasificación y posicionado de objetos; la detección de formas, colores y diferencias de superficie, incluso bajo condiciones ambientales extremas.[2]​.

Domestic

For domestic applications, infrared sensors are used in white goods such as microwave ovens, for example, to allow measurement of indoor temperature distribution.

These devices are also used in home climate control to detect temperature fluctuations in a room. This approach allows the air conditioning system to react before the room temperature changes. Infrared sensors can also be used as gas sensors.

Medical and biological sciences

A trend in medical diagnosis is to develop new non-invasive diagnostic methods. Infrared sensors offer a solution for certain recognition procedures, for example breast and muscle recognition.

Another medical application for infrared sensors is the instant measurement of body temperature, i.e. as a remote or infrared thermometer.

Surveillance or security cameras

Infrared LEDs are used in security cameras to facilitate night vision.

Air and territorial security

Infrared sensors are being used by the armed forces. Infrared field monitoring systems, both fixed and portable, are increasingly replacing refrigerated systems due to their reduced energy consumption.

Motoring

In the automotive industry, infrared sensors are used in the field of driving safety and comfort. Traffic and road monitoring, fog, tire and brake systems, improvements to driver vision and detection of seated occupants for the activation of intelligent airbags are some of the previous applications, while cabin temperature control and air quality monitoring are the most recent.

IT peripherals and consumer products

One of the future applications is the integration of a thermostat for temperature measurements of bodies and objects integrated into mobile phones.

Reflective sensors

This type of sensor has a front face where we find both the LED and the phototransistor. Due to this configuration the system has to measure the radiation coming from the reflection of the light emitted by the LED.

It must be kept in mind that this configuration is sensitive to ambient light, damaging the measurements, it can lead to errors, it is necessary to incorporate filtering circuits in terms of wavelength, so it will be important that they work in controlled light environments.

Another aspect to take into account is the reflectivity coefficient") of the object, the operation of the sensor will be different depending on the type of surface.

This type of sensor follows the same operating principle but the configuration of the components is different, both elements face each other at the same height, on either side of a normally narrow slot, although we find devices with larger slots. This type is typically used for industrial control. Another application could be controlling the turns of a steering wheel.

Modulated sensors

This type of infrared sensor follows the same principle as the reflection sensor "Reflection (physics)") but using the emission of a modulated signal "Modulation (telecommunication)"), greatly reducing the influence of ambient lighting.

They are sensors aimed at detecting presence, measuring distances, detecting obstacles, having a certain independence from lighting.

Sweep sensors

The difference with the previous ones is that the sensor performs a horizontal scan of the reflective surface using modulated signals to improve the independence of light, color or reflectivity of the objects.

Normally these systems are part of a displacement device perpendicular to the scanning axis of the sensor, in order to obtain measurements of the entire surface.

This configuration is based on a single sensor facing a glass, which generates the image of a section of the region to be measured. Said glass is integral with a rotation motor with the aim of sweeping the entire area. It has the advantage that it acquires a continuous sequence of the scanning region. It is a slow system in terms of exploration.

In this case, the configuration of the measurement system is made up of an array of infrared sensors, therefore it is not necessary to use any glass system, it only requires a set of optical lenses to focus (radiation concentration) on each of the sensors.

This configuration is more complex but allows for greater translation speed and better protection against pickup errors.

Los sensores infrarrojos están diseñados especialmente para la detección, clasificación y posicionado de objetos; la detección de formas, colores y diferencias de superficie, incluso bajo condiciones ambientales extremas.[2]​.

Domestic

For domestic applications, infrared sensors are used in white goods such as microwave ovens, for example, to allow measurement of indoor temperature distribution.

These devices are also used in home climate control to detect temperature fluctuations in a room. This approach allows the air conditioning system to react before the room temperature changes. Infrared sensors can also be used as gas sensors.

Medical and biological sciences

A trend in medical diagnosis is to develop new non-invasive diagnostic methods. Infrared sensors offer a solution for certain recognition procedures, for example breast and muscle recognition.

Another medical application for infrared sensors is the instant measurement of body temperature, i.e. as a remote or infrared thermometer.

Surveillance or security cameras

Infrared LEDs are used in security cameras to facilitate night vision.

Air and territorial security

Infrared sensors are being used by the armed forces. Infrared field monitoring systems, both fixed and portable, are increasingly replacing refrigerated systems due to their reduced energy consumption.

Motoring

In the automotive industry, infrared sensors are used in the field of driving safety and comfort. Traffic and road monitoring, fog, tire and brake systems, improvements to driver vision and detection of seated occupants for the activation of intelligent airbags are some of the previous applications, while cabin temperature control and air quality monitoring are the most recent.

IT peripherals and consumer products

One of the future applications is the integration of a thermostat for temperature measurements of bodies and objects integrated into mobile phones.