Non-contact infrared (IR) thermometers used to be something of an exotic tool, but thanks at least in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re now the sort of thing you see hanging up near the grocery store checkout as a cheap impulse buy. Demand pushed up production, and the economies of scale did the test. Now the devices, and the sensors within them, are cheap enough for us hackers to play with.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://hackaday.com/2024/07/05/building-an-ir-thermometer-that-fits-on-your-keychain/