this is a bit of a shooting the breeze question (IE I am not sat here with a mountain of notes to burn)
I’ve been interested in a drone with a thermal imaging camera for a while, mainly for building survey type works.
I am aware of the Mavic enterprise 2 and 3 which are similar (same thermal camera resolution, different flight time, different zoom options etc)
but I’m wondering… anyone used a few different thermal imaging drones… which would you aim for and why? (the M range are a bit too much out of my range… it’s a tool to me but not one I’m good at capitalising at … I seldom (never) get paid for drone related stuff)… but I don’t offer it either… it’s just a hobby / tool
I’ve seen there is also the autel, but they don’t seem to be well liked (never seen or flown one) just curious if there is anyone who has and what they think
I’m going to follow this with interest. I have had a mobile phone which has flir which makes it difficult for me to understand why other equipment such as drones, cameras telescopic sights have to be so expensive. I am on my second Caterpillar phone with flir and although a little basic, it does work well.
I have been looking for Thermal Imager drones with affordable price tags ( for me ) for some time now. I’m still looking.
In terms of production costs ( and this is pure supposition ) I think a Thermal Imager ( basic type ) is not extremely expensive.
Essentially, the higher the frequency ( the smaller the wavelength) the more it costs to produce the electronics ( increased miniturisation).
Most if not all Thermal Imagers operate in the IR Frequency Band which is lower than the Near IR as used by the LiDAR system on the new DJI Air 3S which has a reasonable price for what you get.
I would love to find a Hobbyist drone with a Thermal Imager. Maybe later…
I have an flir module that plugs into my phone, it is useful for tracing pipework, gaps in insulation and overloaded electric circuits, leaky window pane and window frames… BUT it does not work where there there is close variance in temperatures (think underfloor heating loops in concrete)
so… the bit that a lot of flir cameras do not provide is the sensitivity… normally listed as 0.05K… or 0.03 (30mK)…
10mK is a very good camera… 50 is a cheapo / regular hence what you pay for
I have used a hired building survey flir before to do building survey reports and they are much more expensive because of the resolution (640x512 or better AND sensitivity 10mK (0.01K) K= Kelvin… essentially degree Celsius per pixel
never used a thermal camera on a drone though, hence the interest