DJI just unveiled its new Zenmuse XT thermal imaging camera for your DJI Inspire 1 or Matrice 100 drones. The Zenmuse XT uses a FLIR thermal camera to generate aerial images up to 640 x 512 resolution at 30fps or 336 x 256 at 60fps with real-time video transmission over DJI’s Lightbridge technology.
DJI sees several industrial uses for the Zenmuse XT camera and gimbal on its drones, including:
- Power line inspection
- Solar panel inspection
- Search and rescue
- Agriculture
- Fire fighting
According to DJI, the Zenmuse XT can be controlled completely through the DJI GO app, providing a real-time, low latency view of what the camera sees, and instant access to core camera functions including:
- Spot metering, temperature measurement at the mid-point
- Digital zoom
- Single or interval shooting modes
- Photo, video preview and download
- Take photos while recording video
- Various camera settings and parameters including:
- Palette, also referred to as Look-up Table (LUT)
- Scene, also referred to as Automatic Gain Correction (AGC)
- Region of Interest (ROI)
- Isotherm mode
The image enhancement software from FLIR allows for a number of enhancements to thermal footage in order provide the best quality image from the camera’s thermal data.
This is just another example of the broad reach and industry disruption that drones are going to have. In five to ten years, I can see thousands of openings for drone techs/operators at fire departments all over the world.
Now, multiply that times the number of industrial applications there are for just thermal imaging needs. This is the spark of a major disruptive application of drone technology – and it’s still in its infancy…
More details on the Zenmuse XT here on DJI’s website.