I have a couple od scrap Caterpillar mobile phones which have thermal imaging cameras built in to them from new. Both have issues which means they are no longer viable as phones but the cameras are fine.
My thoughts are along the lines of removing the cameras and transfering them over to a drone, just something cheap and cheerful as an experiment.
Has anyone ever tried this type of mod? I’m after a few pointers.
TJ
Hello TJ
Having built and flown multi-rotors for many years. I like the way you are thinking.
There are several issues with this concept, although most can be overcome.
I feel it is unlikely that you can isolate the camera from the phone, to work as a stand-alone device, the motherboard and other circuits would still be needed to operate the camera.
So you will need a drone capable of carrying the weight of the mobile phone.
How are you going to control the camera from the ground and see a live view of the subject?
A small FPV camera positioned to view the LCD screen might work.
Before taking off, the camera is set to time lapse mode. in theory, if you hover in one position for the set time then move on to a different position and repeat.
You could land up with some usable images.
There are other options available, if you would like me to take one of the phones and experiment with it let e know.
Good luck with your project.