A infrared thermal drones refers to a drone with an infrared thermal camera. The infrared camera can capture the infrared energy from any object and visualizes the temperature state through digital processing. In short, you can see the temperature difference between all objects by the color difference on the infrared image.
This handy feature is introduced as an important solution for drones in various fields, such as solar panel inspection, wildlife ecological survey work, search and rescue, the temperature state monitoring of crops, homes and infrastructure inspection, etc. The use of the infrared drones to overlook a wide range of areas, even if the camera can not see clearly, can also use the abnormal temperature state to quickly lock the target objects, Let’s take a closer look at thermal drone technology.
What is Thermal Imaging?
Heat, also known as infrared radiation (IR), is simply the vibration of atoms. Objects emit heat signatures based on the amount of movement of their atoms - the more movement, the hotter the object. Therefore, thermal imaging is a technology that uses infrared radiation to create images. The infrared radiation emitted by an object is closely related to its temperature, and thermal imaging technology is able to capture and display these radiations, producing an image of the object's surface temperature.
Infrared is invisible, while heat can be felt. This infrared radiation occurs at electromagnetic wavelengths that cannot be detected by the eye. Thermal imagers sense the infrared signature and convert it into something visible to humans.
How do drone thermal imagers work?
Autel 640T series and Max series drones are equipped with thermal imaging cameras and visible light cameras. The thermal sensors in the thermal imagers (technically called microbolometers) detect infrared frequencies, pass them to the image processor, and present the results on the visual display.
Autel drone infrared thermal analysis tool is IRPC, and the thermal image screen can be presented in picture-in-picture format, including 10 types of thermal maps, and the maximum resolution of thermal images is 640*512@30fps.
Infrared Thermal Drone Use Cases
Infrared thermal drone solutions can realize their potential in many industries, improve efficiency, enhance aerial situational awareness, and fully play their role.
Autel thermal imaging drones can provide effective aerial solutions in public safety, inspection, construction, agriculture and other fields. You can also choose customized solutions at Autelpilot to perfectly suit your needs.
Wildlife Management
Invasive species tracking
Wildlife Lifestyle reconnaissance
environmental ecological reconnaissance
Protect local farm species and resources
Wildlife Hunting
Find prey quickly
Night study habits
Aerial positioning and tracking
Will not disturb the environment
Catch Suspects
Discover where the criminal is hiding
Scan a wide range of suspicious areas
Protect the personal safety of police officers
Dynamically track suspicious vehicles and suspects
Search & Rescue
Live thermal images
No fear of day or night
Identify and locate targets
Long-duration flight capability
Roof Inspection
External duct inspection
Bird damage inspection
Low Slope | Flat Roof Scan
Shingles | Ceramic Tiles | Slate Roof Survey
Iine Inspection
Oil and gas pipeline leaks
Non-contact measurement positioning
Early warning of dangerous situations
Building structural defects and corrosion
Autel Thermal Drone For Sale
I believe you have a preliminary understanding of thermal imaging drones, let’s find a suitable thermal imaging drone. How long is the flight? What is the resolution of a thermal imaging camera? Detectable temperature range? Whether the thermal imaging of the drone can be zoomed, etc.
Deploying thermal drones is impressive! Autel Drones offers you thermal drones: Autel EVO II 640T V3, Autel EVO MAX 4T, Autel EVO MAX 4N, Autel Alpha. Autel EVO II 640T V3 also has an enterprise package, which includes Autel EVO II 640T RTK V3, Autel EVO II Enterprise V3.
The Autel infrared thermal drone features a multi-sensor camera gimbal that provides unparalleled visual quality and thermal imaging. The Autel EVO II 640T V3 camera gimbal is composed of an 8K visible light camera and a 640*512@25fps thermal imager. The flight time can be up to 38 minutes. When paired with the Enterprise kit, it will be applicable to more scenes.
The Autel EVO MAX series drone boasts powerful autonomous flight capabilities, with the intelligent remote controller featuring split-screen display of visible light imagery and thermal imaging, along with impressive zoom capabilities and up to 42 minutes of flight time. Whether it's for search and rescue or inspection tasks, it outperforms its peers in the realm of thermal imaging drones.
EVO Lite 640T Enterprise
Autel 640T V3
Autel EVO MAX 4T
Zoom Camera: 48MP | 8K 10x Optical Zoom(160x Max)
Thermal Camera:640x512 | 16x Digital Zoom
Wide Camera: 50MP | 1/1.28" CMOS
Laser Rangefinder
12.4 miles Transmission Range
720° Obstacle Avoidance
42 mins Max Flight Time
Autel EVO MAX 4N
2.3MP Starlight Night-Vision Camera
Thermal Camera:640x512
Wide Camera: 50MP | 1/1.28" CMOS
Laser Rangefinder
12.4 miles Transmission Range
720° Obstacle Avoidance
42 mins Max Flight Time
Autel Alpha
4K 35x Optical Zoom
Anti-GPS Interference and Spoofing
Anti-Image Transmission Interference
12.4 Miles Image transmission
Dual Thermal Camera
Hot-swappable Battery
IP55 Protection level
Autel Infrared Thermal Imaging Camera Specifications Comparison
The measurement accuracy of thermal imaging drones, which measures the temperature difference changes, is not only affected by the specifications of the thermal sensor itself (sensor type, sensor FOV, sensor focal length, sensor wavelength range, etc.), but also by external factors, such as low emissivity objects, highly reflective objects, atmospheric conditions - too much heat, humidity, clouds, rain or snowfall, etc. Familiar with the characteristics of thermal sensors to better use infrared thermal imaging drones.
Best Infrared Thermal Drone Cameras
Valuable thermal optics! Autel EVO II V3 series and EVO MAX series drone camera lenses of the same series are interchangeable! Thermal imaging camera resolution, detection temperature range, and thermal sensitivity provide accurate data for UAV mission execution day and night.
The Autel 640T V3 dual-camera gimbal features an 8K visible light camera and a 640*512@25fps thermal imager, with a picture-in-picture mode that seamlessly integrates the images from both cameras for enhanced visualization.
The Fusion Camera 4T/4N features a multi-sensor camera lens, optical zoom camera/starlight night vision camera, wide-angle camera, 640x512 bolometer, and laser rangefinder integrated into a single stable payload for rapid data collection.
The Autel L-35T camera has more powerful photography capabilities, and dual thermal imaging cameras can provide more accurate data. The Autel Dragonfish series has multiple replaceable camera gimbals, please choose the corresponding model!
Autel EVO Lite 640T Gimbal Camera
Autel EVO II 640T Gimbal Camera
Autel EVO MAX 4T Gimbal Camera
160x Max Zoom Camera + 50MP Wide Camera + 640x512 Thermal Camera + Laser Rangefinder
Infrared Res: 640x512 Pixels
Infrared Frame Rates: 25Hz
Infrared Lens: 12 mm
16x hybrid zoom
Autel EVO MAX 4N Gimbal Camera
Starlight Night-Vision Camera + 50MP Wide Camera + 640x512 Thermal Camera + Laser Rangefinder
Infrared Res: 640x512 Pixels
Infrared Frame Rates: 25Hz
Infrared Lens: 12 mm
16x hybrid zoom
Autel L-35T Gimbal Camera
560x Max Zoom Camera + 48MP Wide Camera + 640x512 Thermal Camera + Laser Rangefinder
Infrared Res: 640x512 Pixels
Infrared Frame Rates: 25Hz
Infrared Lens: 12 mm
56x hybrid zoom
13mm focal length wide-angle thermal imaging
45mm focal length long-range thermal imaging
Autel DG-T3 Gimbal Camera
4K 20x optical zoom
12m pixel wide angle camera
640x512 infared camera
3-axis gimbal stabilization
For Dragonfish Lite/Standard/Pro
Autel DG-T3H Gimbal Camera
12m pixel wide angle camera
1080x1024 infared camera
Laser range sensor
3-axis gimbal stabilization
For Dragonfish Lite/Standard/Pro
Autel DG-L20T Gimbal Camera
4K 20x optical zoom
12m pixel wide angle camera
640x512 infared camera
Laser range sensor
For Dragonfish Lite/Standard/Pro
Autel DG- L50T Gimbal Camera
4K 50x optical zoom camera
12m pixel wide angle camera
1280×1024 infared camera
Laser range sensor
3-axis gimbal stabilization
For Dragonfish Pro
Infrared Thermal Imaging Drone Video
Autel IRPC tool displays 10 thermal palettes: White Hot | Balck Hot | Rainbow | Rainbow HC | Iron bow | Lava | Arctic | Glowbow | Graded Fire | Hottest
White Hot: The White Hot palette displays hot areas as white, cold areas as black, and medium temperature areas as gray. This palette is good for highlighting hot areas and making them more eye-catching.
Black Hot: The opposite of White Hot, the Black Hot palette displays cold areas as white and hot areas as black. This palette is also good for highlighting temperature differences, but emphasizes the cold areas more.
Rainbow: The Rainbow palette maps cold areas as blue, medium temperature areas as green or yellow, and hot areas as red. This palette is rich in color and is good for showing overall temperature distribution.
Rainbow HC: Rainbow HC is an enhancement to the Rainbow palette that increases the contrast between colors, making temperature changes more obvious, and is good for detecting objects and small temperature changes in low contrast conditions.
Iron bow: Iron bow uses color to show heat distribution and subtle details. Hot objects are displayed in lighter warm colors, while cooler objects are displayed in darker cool colors. This palette is suitable for detecting hot spots in equipment in the industrial field.
Lava: The Lava palette maps temperature information to the color of lava during a volcanic eruption, with low-temperature areas displayed as dark colors and high-temperature areas displayed as bright red to yellow. It is suitable for highlighting hot areas.
Arctic: The Arctic palette identifies warm objects with gold and cooler objects with blue. The different colors can quickly detect heat sources, while darker shades can identify slight temperature changes. It is suitable for highlighting cold areas or cold environments.
Glowbow: The Glowbow palette combines the colors of the rainbow with an additional glow effect to make the temperature distribution more obvious.
Graded Fire: The Graded Fire palette simulates the color of fire, mapping low-temperature areas to dark red, medium-temperature areas to bright red, and high-temperature areas to white.
Hottest: The Hottest palette displays the hottest area in white, and other areas gradually darken as the temperature decreases, making the hottest area more conspicuous.
Picture-in-Picture Mode
10 Thermal Color Palettes
4x Lossless Zoom
Autel 640T Thermal Video
Autel Dragonfish Thermal Video
IRPC Thermal Analysis Tool
6 Key Advantages of Thermal Drones
Infrared thermal drones can be used in search and rescue, agriculture, electrical inspection, building inspection, fire protection, law enforcement, environmental monitoring, solar farms, oil and gas, wildlife research and protection, etc. Thermal imaging will Leverage your unique advantages to provide decision-makers with accurate data.
Infrared Thermal Imaging Detection
Detect infrared radiation of objects and quickly detect temperature differences and thermal signatures.
Enhance Night Vision
Get through everything (smoke, fog and dust) in low light conditions.
Safe and Economical
To fully cope with challenging environments, remote thermal inspection enhances safety and saves costs.
Real-Time Analysis
Thermal drones can conduct real-time live broadcasts, share the on-site environment, and perform instant analysis and decision-making.
Rapid Deployment
Autel infrared thermal drone is a foldable drone, which is portable and easy to deploy, and can be flexibly adapted to multiple scenarios.
Inject New Vitality
Thermal drones provide new possibilities for traditional industries, making aerial data collection and perspective more comprehensive and efficient.
Hottest Thermal Imaging Drone Blog News
To learn more about infrared thermal drones, check out our thermal drone blog, discover the best infrared thermal drones for sale, learn about practical infrared thermal drone use cases, and ask us for the best infrared thermal drones Thermal drone solution!