Near infrared (NIR) photo-responsive polyaniline-based conducting thin films are developed for sensor application. Upon NIR illumination (2.43 W/cm(2)), the electrical conductance of the polyaniline thin films was enhanced 5.9% and the response time was 20 s. NIR sensing performance of polyaniline conducting polymer thin film is comparable with that of bolometric carbon nanotube (CNT) network devices with the merits of polymers over CNTs such as processability, productivity and economy. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.