Hiding in shadows or using darkness for concealment won’t do any good — not from the FLIR digital video cameras, which use heat rather than light to see in the dark. These cameras, which are based on the same sort of long-wave infrared technology that was used in movies including Hollow Man and Predator, is coming to home users. The cameras are already being offered as accessories for automobiles, including BMW’s Five, Six and Seven series.

Home security options from FLIR begin at around $3,400, and will provide a native 320 x 240-pixel resolution. That's a far cry from high definition, but it will be enough to know whether that sound in the backyard is really a potential cat burglar or just the neighbor’s cat!