Drones are on the rise, pun intended. From surveying landscapes to delivering packages, we are seeing them integrated into more roles in our daily lives. With these small unmanned aerial vehicles (sUAV) comes questions of privacy, and viability, but we aren’t here to talk about that. We want to explore the ways thermal imaging can be integrated into a drone, and the innovative ways it is being used in the world.
Search and rescue:
Drones equipped with thermal cameras are exceptionally useful in finding missing persons after a catastrophe, whether that be an avalanche, a hurricane, or even war. Because they are easily deployed, and can cover vast areas (not to mention flying over difficult terrain that would slow humans down), they cut down on the time it takes to successfully rescue someone. DJI has an interactive map that shows the number of drone rescues performed across the world, culminating in over 1000 people saved in 40 countries.
Wildlife conservation:
sUAS are often used to monitor animal populations, on and off nature reserves. This allows them to track behavioral tendencies as well as habitat usage on a large scale. In the video above the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Thailand, uses UAVs equipped with thermal cameras to patrol beaches and monitor sea turtles that come to lay their eggs.
In the same vein, they are also used for protection, both for plants and animals. Thermal drones can often detect illegal deforestation and are handy in finding poachers sneaking onto game reserves. If detected in time, anti-poaching units can be deployed to save the animals.
Inspections in hazardous / hard-to-reach areas:
Thermal drones can be useful for inspection on an industrial scale to check for insulation issues and identify areas of heat loss, or even find energy leaks. If not repaired these problems can result in excess energy consumption, and reduced energy efficiency.
They are often used to inspect solar farms. They can often locate defects in the solar panels at the same time as collecting accurate temperature readings. In the video above The Drone Life uses the FLIR Zenmuse XT-2 to find $21,423.27 in revenue loss on a solar farm.
Seeing in low-light conditions and through smoke, fog, and dust:
This plays into search and rescue operations, firefighting operations, and those pesky hard-to-reach inspections. Sometimes there’s thick smoke, fog, or even dust in the way. Normal cameras might succumb to the adverse conditions, but your thermal imaging camera can cut through the veil. The higher the thermal sensitivity of your camera, the better it will see through the harsh environments.
The video above shows a great example of this. Even when the colored smoke is at its thickest, the thermal cameras don’t pick it up, instead only showing the heat signature given by the smoke bombs.
Monitoring livestock / crop management:
Photo by Craig Packer. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Livestock monitoring can take several forms: whether you’re tracking the movement of a herd of cattle across acres of farmland, or checking the health of individual animals, thermal imaging can revolutionize the game. This photo above was captioned “electronic thermography (thermal recording) image of a cow infected with foot-and-mouth-disease virus. Note that the hooves are red. Red color in the hooves indicates heat.” As the morbidity rate of this disease can be high, it's crucial for farmers to spot it right away, before more animals are infected.
Ever killed a houseplant because you didn’t water it properly? I have, I’ll admit it. One way farmers are avoiding the same situation is with thermal imaging drones. They can survey large areas of crops at once, checking for things like irrigation issues (too much or too little water in an area), and even temperature discrepancies, which can indicate stress and disease.
Thermal Drones/ Thermal Cameras for Drones Available Through GroupGets:
Do you want to get started with airborne thermal imaging, but don’t know where to start? GroupGets has some options.
Teledyne FLIR SIRAS
The newest addition to GroupGets’s collection is the full package. It is an IP54-rated professional drone with an interchangeable payload system. You can get to the skies quickly, and with no geofencing! With a full charge you can fly for up to 31 minutes - but if you need to fly longer, it has hot-swappable batteries to keep you on the go.
This system was designed for your data security. You are not required to make an account online to operate it, and it stores your data locally via an onboard microSD card.
- IR Camera Resolution
- 640 x 512, radiometric, 5x zoom
- IR Video Frame Rate
- 60 Hz
- Radiometric Features
- Spot meter, Isotherms, Region of Interest (ROI)
- Zoom up to 5x with the 640x512 FLIR Boson camera
- Fly within 2 minutes of power-on
- Collision avoidance
- Detect objects day and night with radar-based front collision avoidance
- Front Facing Radar: up to 30 m, when flying <5 m/sec speed
- Ground detection via underside sensors
- Designed in CA, manufactured in TW
Price: $9,760.00 USD
Promo: The first five SIRAS orders will receive an extra set of batteries - no charge!
Already have a sUAV? Now is the perfect time to look into add-ons. With any of the following you can turn your drone (and yourself) into a thermal imaging pro!
Teledyne FLIR Zenmuse XT-2
The FLIR XT2 integrates a high-resolution FLIR thermal sensor and a 4K visual camera with a leading stabilization and machine intelligence technology to quickly transform aerial data into powerful insights.
Using the HeatTrack and QuickTrack features allows you to mark the location of objects and track them on your mobile device.
- Weight 25 mm lens:
- 629 g Other lens versions: 588 g
- Full Frame Rate
- 30 Hz
- Dimensions With 25mm lens:
- 123.7 × 112.6 × 127.1 mm, with other lenses: 118.02 × 111.6 × 125.5
Price: $6,000.00 USD
Teledyne FLIR Vue Pro R 640
The Vue Pro R 640 gives accurate, fully-radiometric measurements with calibrated data embedded in every pixel. The FLIR UAS app allows easy configuration and alteration of color palettes among other optimization features.
- Measurement Accuracy
- +/-5°C or 5% of reading
- Operational Altitude
- +40,000 feet
- Full Frame Rate
- 30 Hz (NTSC); 25 Hz (PAL)
- IR Camera Resolution
- 640 x 512
- Weight
- 3.25 - 4 oz (Configuration Dependent)
- Dimensions
- 44.45mm x 44.45mm x 62.6mm
Price: $3,895.00 USD
Teledyne FLIR Vue Pro 640
FLIR Vue Pro is more than a thermal camera, it is a thermal measurement instrument and data recorder that allows you to record digital video as well as capture still imagery onto a removable SD card. You can integrate the Vue Pro 640 with your drone’s control system to manage camera function in-flight.
- Operational Altitude
- +40,000 feet
- Full Frame Rate
- 30 Hz (NTSC); 25 Hz (PAL)
- IR Camera Resolution
- 640 x 512
- Weight
- 3.25 - 4 oz (Configuration Dependent)
- Dimensions
- 44.45mm x 44.45mm x 62.6mm
Price: $3,895.00 USD
If you’re looking to integrate something a little lighter into your sUAS, let me introduce you to the DroneThermal v4.
DroneThermal v4
Small, and low-cost, the DroneThermal v4 is an analog thermal camera for small UAVs (and surveillance, if you’re into that). It allows you to use all 160x120 and 80x60 pixel FLIR Lepton thermal imaging cores. You sacrifice the higher resolution of the other FLIR camera cores, but get a smaller, lighter-weight component.
- Weight
- 2.3grams (without the Lepton core)
- Dimensions
- 20x20x10mm
- Video signal output
- 25Hz PAL / 30Hz NTSC
- Supports all 160x120 pixels and 80x60 pixels Lepton thermal cores.
- Has 8 available color palettes
Price: $173.00 USD
Thermal imaging comes in different shapes and sizes, and GroupGets has what you need, whether you’re just getting started, or adding to your collection. From full-fledged drones to individual cameras, we’re here to help you take your eyes to the skies. Do you have questions about our thermal cameras? Feel free to contact us and ask - we are always happy to help! Do note that some FLIR products have a lead time; and there are export restrictions for thermal cameras. More information can be found on the individual product pages.