Infared imaging process bears many similarities to the visible imaging process. If visible band computer vision techniques can be used on infrared images with no or small adjustments it would save us the trouble of redeveloping a whole new set of techniques. However, there are important differences in the practical environmental parameters between visible and infrared bands that invalidates many convenient background assumptions inherent to visible-band computer vision techniques. We review here the underlying reasons why some computer vision techniques can while some cannot be applied directly to infrared images. We also examine a few attempts to extend computer vision to infrared images and discuss their relative merits.