Thermography with drones
In recent years, large hand-held cameras have become centimetre-sized high-tech systems. Many manufacturers have already integrated high-quality thermal imaging cameras into drones. We give you an overview.
Where are drones used?
The use of drones in agriculture, industry and security is increasing. In the field of thermography, they are mainly used as follows:
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Inspection in the property and construction industry (thermal bridges or damage caused by moisture in roofs and facades), in agriculture (irrigation) or energy supply (power lines and photovoltaic systems)
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Search and Rescue (SAR for short): Search for missing persons by the German Red Cross (DRK), mountain rescue services and the police
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monitoring and security of large areas and objects at night (in connection with perimeter protection)
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Detection of sources of fire by fire brigades
- Fawn search
Which drone and which camera?
Firstly, let's take a brief look at the relevant manufacturers: The American company FLIR is the undisputed market leader for thermal imaging sensors, but does not offer any drones itself. To solve this problem, FLIR has been cooperating with the two major drone manufacturers DJI and Yuneec for several years. The result is seamlessly integrated thermal imaging systems.
In recent years, the world's largest drone manufacturer DJI has developed its own thermal imaging sensors. Here you benefit from significantly lower prices while still enjoying great functionality.
If you now take a look at the market, you will quickly discover the most important purchase criterion: The resolution of the camera. The price class is largely based on this. Growing numbers of units have caused prices to fall - but thermal imaging cameras have never been a bargain and certainly never will be. You are probably asking yourself: And what resolution do I need? Basically, the larger the area to be monitored, the higher the resolution should be. In other words, the further away I want to be from my target object, the higher the required resolution. The standard resolution is currently 640 x 640 pixels.
Once you have decided on a minimum resolution, you can narrow down your purchase candidates further by asking the following questions:
- What features are important to me?
- What budget do I have available?
- Do I have suitable flying experience? (Flying without GPS support on facades)
- What size is my operational vehicle (sufficient power for recharging the batteries)
We have summarised the most popular thermal imaging drones for you:
DJI Mavic 3T: The compact and cost-effective solution with 640 x 640 px resolution.
DJI Mavic 30T: Rain-resistant drone with 640 x 640 px resolution for demanding conditions.
DJI M300 H20T is the flagship among the thermal imaging solutions. The price is correspondingly high, but with the highest resolution, radiometric measurement and long flight time, it is the latest and most powerful model from DJI.
We are happy to help you with your purchase decision with a free consultation. We are also happy to share our experience of useful functions and possible applications with you.
Packages assembled and tested
We have put together ready-to-fly packages for you, which have already been positively tested many times by our customers. The packages include the aircraft, set-up, training and service & support for software and hardware. Benefit from our experience and expand your portfolio with a thermal imaging solution now!
In our guide, we explain the technical context and explain in detail what you need to look out for when choosing a thermal imaging system.
