With the intensification of global climate change, wildfire has become one of the most common and deadly natural disasters worldwide. Thousands of forest wildfires cause huge economic losses and casualties every year. The application of thermal imaging drones in forest wildfire rescue can greatly improve rescue efficiency and safety.
What is a Thermal Imaging Drone?
The thermal imaging drone is named after the infrared camera installed on the drones. A thermal imaging camera combines a specialized lens that detects infrared frequencies, a thermal sensor, and an image processor to detect and measure an object's thermal radiation to produce a high-resolution thermal image. This technology can work in harsh environments such as night or smoke, and can identify fire sources hidden deep in the forest, making it a powerful tool for forest wildfire rescue.
The Role of Thermal Imaging Drones in Forest and Wildfire Rescue
Fire source identification
Thermal imaging drones can identify and record the location of the fire source, while providing high-definition images and videos, so that firefighters can more accurately understand the situation of the fire and take effective fire fighting measures. With the help of thermal imaging drones, firefighters can avoid high-risk exploration in dangerous areas, reducing the risk of casualties.
Resource allocation
Thermal imaging drones can help the fire department understand the development trend of the fire, predict the direction and speed of fire spread, so as to better arrange the deployment of resources. Through real-time monitoring and analysis, thermal imaging drones can help firefighters allocate fire areas and burning intensity more effectively, so as to make better use of manpower and material resources.
Rescue and search
Thermal imaging drones can find the location of missing persons at night or in harsh environments such as smog, helping rescue teams respond quickly and launch rescue operations. In addition, thermal imaging drones can also help firefighters find the location of victims and provide effective target information for faster rescue and rescue.
Most Popular Thermal Cameras Drones for Wildfires
DJI Matrice 30T. The M30T model integrates a 48 MP 1/2'' CMOS sensor-zoom camera, 12 MP wide-angle camera, and a laser rangefinder. The drone also includes a 40mm 640x512 30fps thermal imaging camera with measurement accuracy of ± 2°C or ±2%.
Autel EVO II Dual 640T. This is a fixed payload that features a 48 MP camera with an uncooled IR sensor that picks up infrared radiations of 7.5 to 13.5 micrometers. And Autel 640T has Autel 640T V2 and Autel 640T V3 versions, constantly strengthening the thermal imager Imaging capabilities!
DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced. This drone comes equipped with a fixed dual camera that has a 640 × 512 px radiometric thermal camera with a 30 Hz frame rate, 16x zoom, and 640 x 512 resolution.
Parrot ANAFI Thermal. The ANAFI Thermal drone comes equipped with a fixed FLIR Lepton 3.5 radiometric sensor for exact temperature readings with a spectral band of 8 to 14 microscopes and a photo resolution of 3264 x 2448.
