DJI squarely owns the prosumer end of the drone market with its insanely popular Phantom and Inspire quadrotors. Presumably, the addition of thermal-imaging capabilities to its higher-end drones is meant to lock down that market, not make it easier to hunt and kill humans. Presumably. DJI has partenered up with thermal-imaging manufacturer FLIR to produce the Zenmuse XT, a thermal-imaging camera that will integrate onto the gimbal on DJI’s existing Inspire 1 and Matrice 100 drones. That means all the advantages that DJI has become famous for—stupid-simple operation, live-streaming first-person video and good performance—will transfer over to a thermal-imaging platform. In turn, that should open new kinds of possibilities for users. Sure, it would be fun to blast around with a thermal-imaging camera as a hobby; but for search-and-rescue, firefighting or construction workers, it could add a genuinely game-changing capability. There’s no word on price, but the existing Zenmuse X5 camera already costs thousands of dollars, and thermal-imaging cameras are not normally synonymous with ‘cheap’. Wait and see how many organs you’ll have to sell off: availability is expected in the first part of 2016. [DJI]
DJI has partnered up with thermal-imaging manufacturer FLIR, to develop the Zenmuse XT drone. DJI will use its Inspire 1 and Matrice 100 drones, equipping them with thermal-imaging cameras, which will be useful for search-and-rescue missions, firefighting and in the construction industry. The company is also working on a drone that can fly at night or under cloudy skies. Firefighters using aerial thermal imagery technology explain that it helps identify which areas of the building are most affected by a fire, helping them see how the fire has affected the roof of the building and where it has spread to before anyone enters the building. Aerial thermal imaging has also become popular in the agriculture sector for crop management. Farmers are using the technology to help plan irrigation schedules, estimate fruit yields, and detect diseases.