Mavic 2 Flir - An Analysis

[io390]

I was referring to the DJI M2E Dual with their Lepton. I would love to be proven wrong though I don’t think that would be a good search thermal soution. Likely max range of around only 40m to see someone. Boson would do a lot better and be useful. I know why DJI did this as they have to segment this from their more expensive professional/industrial line, but it is really a let down. It likely will fail the expectations of many especially they misleadingly spec it as 640x480 thermal image size.

Ah gotcha.

Boson 320 with 50deg HFOV lens should show the heat signature of a person at 150 metres. Lepton has half the resolution and slightly larger FOV, so it would not be unreasonable to assume max detectable range for humans of 70 metres. This is about in line with what you get from a Flir One Pro, which is basically the same as what's on the M2E Dual.

A lot of people are complaining about the 160x120 res unfortunately. Oh well. Could be good for us and our product, once it's finished.

 

[mnix]

Thanks, that's what we are going for.

Regarding lenses, I don't think Flir sell the Boson lenses on their own so likely you'd need a whole Boson core to get a different lens.



Are you referring to the Boson or Lepton solution?

Boson 320 6.3mm can easily make out a person waving their arms 200m away.

Bummer on the lenses, but at least there is the option to select an appropriate one when purchasing.

On the subject of identifying things - the Pulsar is able to detect objects like a kangaroo (about half the size of a person) and identify them by the way they move (takes a little practice) at 300-400m. Larger animals like cattle are identifiable at 800-1000m. At those ranges the diameter of the objective lens is a factor, so we are never going to see that kind of capability on a small drone, but I'd expect the Boson to be good to at least 200, maybe 300-400m for a person that's moving.
Certainly good enough to decide "that's worth a closer look"

 

[Snowstorm]

I am going to do a test outside with my FLIR One gen 2 160x120 in the dark and see what how far I get. It is -3C so my test may not represent typical conditions. Going to be hard to convince my partner to go out in a short and T-shirt though...

 

[Cookedinlh]

Bummer on the lenses, but at least there is the option to select an appropriate one when purchasing.

On the subject of identifying things - the Pulsar is able to detect objects like a kangaroo (about half the size of a person) and identify them by the way they move (takes a little practice) at 300-400m. Larger animals like cattle are identifiable at 800-1000m. At those ranges the diameter of the objective lens is a factor, so we are never going to see that kind of capability on a small drone, but I'd expect the Boson to be good to at least 200, maybe 300-400m for a person that's moving.
Certainly good enough to decide "that's worth a closer look"

I finally selected 9.1mm on the BOSON 320 last year and ran it on the P4P+ as well as the Mavic Pro. It's tough to search effciently without some sort of stabilization unless you simply hover and look around at whatever angle you took off in. It is quite capable of finding a bunny in the forest at around 150m but at 24deg FOV or less it gets pretty hard to find your target except by chance. Sure hope DJI come out with a gimble mount of some sort for the M2E. If you are considering buying a BOSON All this was shot with 9.1mm BOSON 320 . . some fixed to the top of a Mavic Pro and some velcro under a P4P Camera GImble

 

[Snowstorm]

I am going to do a test outside with my FLIR One gen 2 160x120 in the dark and see what how far I get. It is -3C so my test may not represent typical conditions. Going to be hard to convince my partner to go out in a short and T-shirt though...

FLIR One Gen 2 has about 55degree fov.
I can see a person at about 160ft max. It was cold at -3C outside though.

 

[sergekouper]

I have ordered the M2ED for inspections. I can't wait to get it! What I saw so far is pretty good enough for that. Shame the Zoom has disappeared, it was a great picture to get close ups. I don't plan to do any SAR whatsoever. Will see.

 

[Cookedinlh]

I have ordered the M2ED for inspections. I can't wait to get it! What I saw so far is pretty good enough for that. Shame the Zoom has disappeared, it was a great picture to get close ups. I don't plan to do any SAR whatsoever. Will see.

If you liked the zoom then you will love the M2E . . X6ZOOM . . thing is the x6 does not work with Photos only 2 x optical . . to use x6 you need to take video. Mind you once you get the photo you can always zoom in digitally in post . . either way . . you'll be very happy with the E model. I am.

 

[Snowstorm]

I am disappointed that the zoom cannot provide 3x digital zoom, there is no technical reason why it needs to be limited to the M2E

 

[io390]

I am disappointed that the zoom cannot provide 3x digital zoom, there is no technical reason why it needs to be limited to the M2E

Because then it would be too close to the M2E. They have to be able to justify the price difference.

Anyway, some exciting updates on our Boson M2Z to come soon.

Our solution is retaining the original 3x zoom camera, as well as the longer range thermal capability. Also digital zoom on the Boson.

 

[io390]

Getting there...

 

[Cookedinlh]

Getting there...

View attachment 57688
View attachment 57689

\Hey thast's looking pretty doable , , any test flights yet? . . I'm still working with the usas.com fixed mount for the M2E and mounted below the P4P+ Camera. The latest upgrade will be here next week I hope with a ground unit that can change BOSON parameters during flight. Keep us posted with some video please

 

[Snowstorm]

Getting there...

View attachment 57688
View attachment 57689

Impressive. Is the gimbal able to handle the increased load?

 

[io390]

Impressive. Is the gimbal able to handle the increased load?

Curiously, DJI added some hefty counterbalance weights on the M2Z gimbal, so it actually leaves a lot of scope for playing with different payloads.

The Boson and optical zoom module is really a bit too big for this gimbal but we've managed to make it work. An easier solution would be to use a Pro gimbal in the first instance since it's a bit bigger, but that would be very uneconomical.

 

[Snowstorm]

what would the video interface and control look like? Will the boson be transmitted and displayed on a separate monitor or are you able to integrate that into the same video feed to the app?

Saw this pick features on droneDJ today. This is what the M2E Dual should have been. Looking forward to this.

 

[Snowstorm]

Since this would be used at night, to may want to add some lights as an option to this unit and link it to the landing light so it can be app controlled. Would be helpful to get a visible confirmation of thing you see on thermal closer up.

 

[io390]

Since this would be used at night, to may want to add some lights as an option to this unit and link it to the landing light so it can be app controlled. Would be helpful to get a visible confirmation of thing you see on thermal closer up.

Haha, I hadn't seen the DroneDJ article until I saw your link. I've just sent him some more info and hopefully he'll credit us.

Yes, the image is shown through the Go 4 app. There are no other parts/displays/batteries or anything, you just turn it on and use it like a normal Mavic.

Switching between visible light and thermal image is achieved by pushing a button on the controller. It's been designed so you can use the drone with gloves on, so there are extra physical buttons/switches added on the RC. No need to use the touch screen in flight.

The downside is it can't record thermal and visible at the same time, just one or the other, so the DJI solution is better for inspection. Plus it's radiometric.

Anyway, we're making progress so I'll keep posting updates here. I posted it on the DJI group on Facebook and was promptly banned

Edit - we'll be able to add other features like the one you suggest in future, for now we need to finish off the basics.

 

[Cookedinlh]

I like your solutions . . looking great. Here is the small screen interface coming soon from suas.com I hope to have it in a week or so. Not much available on it but there is a short clip in their website under News from Nov 2018. It allows the operator to control all relevant parameters of the BOSON during flight and looks pretty comprehensive. It's a touch screen that also issues start/stop and record commands too. This is the only pic I know if it

 

[AMann]

Ive been trying to contact seller to confirm if they have original receipts with serial numbers, but so far no replies. Hmmm... Anyone have info anout this, hopefully someone is not missing it.

Flir Boson 18 MM Camera And Mount For Mavic 2 Zoom | eBay

 

[io390]

Ive been trying to contact seller to confirm if they have original receipts with serial numbers, but so far no replies. Hmmm... Anyone have info anout this, hopefully someone is not missing it.

Flir Boson 18 MM Camera And Mount For Mavic 2 Zoom | eBay

That looks like one of the setups from suas.com

 

[AMann]

That looks like one of the setups from suas.com

Thanks- thought it looked pricey and suspicious. I would rather what to see what you do with the 640.