Drones tend to get a hard time in the press, with headlines pointing out all the negative things people do with these excellent bits of technology. However, a new commercial drone camera from DJI looks set to balance out all of that hate, because the new Zenmuse XT2 has been designed to save lives.
Although the camera also has uses for the agricultural and construction industries, the most exciting use for the Zenmuse XT2 is in the fields of firefighting and search and rescue - yes, this is a drone camera designed to help rescue people.
The twin cameras feature dual sensors to deliver separate information.
Key to this ability is the XT2’s thermal imaging camera, which DJI say was created in partnership with FLIR Systems, and is a critical tool for drone operators to capture heat signatures invisible to the naked eye. There’s side-by-side visual and thermal imaging sensors which can give both a normal picture and a heat map picture to emergency services searching for people in need.
“The Zenmuse XT2 continues our longstanding partnership with FLIR to create the most powerful thermal imaging solution available on a drone today. This is a significant advancement for public safety professionals who are using drones to save lives and creating new industrial applications across different verticals,” said Jan Gasparic, Head of Enterprise Partnerships at DJI.
The thermal imaging camera can spot casulties through smoke that would be invisible to the human eye
The specs for this camera are thoroughly impressive and, along with a 12-megapixel sensor that captures 4K footage, the Spotlight Pro feature enables operators to concentrate on safe flight routes and data interpretation while the camera automatically tracks an object through two intelligent flight modes. The first, called QuickTrack, centers the camera on the selected area while the second, called HeatTrack, automatically tracks the hottest object in view.
There’s also a ‘Temp Alarm’ mode which DJI say ‘interprets thermal data in real-time and alerts drone operators when an object’s temperature exceeds critical thresholds. ’ The Zenmuse XT2 is compatible with DJI’s professional Matrice 200 Series and Matrice 600 drones and is available to buy now in two thermal sensor resolutions (640 x 512 or 336 x 256), with 9mm, 13mm, 19mm, and 25mm lens options. Check out the XT2 in action below.
Check out the XT2 in action. . .
. digitalrev.com2018-4-25 03:00
